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Opinion: 8 Best Cricket Players of All-Time

Sohail Khan
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Opinion: 8 Best Cricket Players of All-Time

As the British Empire spread across the world, it took with it one of the UK’s favourite pastimes: cricket. The game soon came to be loved in just about every corner of the world, from the deserts of Australia to the banks of the Ganges, and the tiny tropical islands of the Caribbean to the savannahs of South Africa. As the sport flourished, legendary cricket players emerged across the globe, making their mark on the game.

Although it is hard to pick the best cricketers of all time from the wealth of talent throughout history, here is a list of eight of the best.

1. Sir Donald Bradman

Legendary Australian cricketer Sir Donald Bradman is often known affectionately as simply “The Don”. His impressive batting record not only made him a hero in his day, but it has stood the test of time, and he is still considered by experts to be the greatest batsman in the history of the game. Bradman’s test batting average was an exceptional 99.94 and his Wisden rating is 1349, outstripping any other batsman by more than 300 points. His career spanned throughout the 1930’s and 1940’s and he is renowned not only for his unbeaten run scoring, but also his grace and class as a true gentleman.

Opinion: 8 Best Cricket Players of All-Time | Discussing the best cricketers of all-time | Listing the top 8 best cricket players ever
Don Bradman: Best Cricket Player of all-time

Also read: Top 5 Best Australia Tests since 2000

2. Sachin Tendulkar

The Indian national cricket team roster has full of stars during the early years of the 21st century, but probably none more so than batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who continues to be one of the most loved figures in India today. Tendulkar was probably the greatest pioneer of the straight drive and has an almost unrivalled batting record. He scored nearly 16,000 runs in Test matches and more than 18,000 runs in ODIs, being able to handle both pace and spin bowling and challenging even the most powerful bowlers at the time.

Opinion: 8 Best Cricket Players of All-Time | Discussing the best cricketers of all-time | Listing the top 8 best cricket players ever
Best Cricket Players – Sachin Tendulkar: A true great of the game.

Also read: Top 5 Best India Tests since 2000

3. Sir Vivian Richards

The greatest cricketer in West Indies history and one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the game, Sir Vivian Richards is recognised as the best ODI batsman ever. He has an average of 47 from a total of 187 ODI matches played (SR 90), and 50 from 121 Test cricket matches. A versatile player, Richards was also an exceptional bowler, taking 118 wickets in ODIs.

Best Cricket Players – Viv Richards is one of the greatest batsmen of all-time

4. Brian Lara

Another legend of West Indies cricket and one of the best players in the history of the game is Brian Lara. He has the record for the most runs in a First Class cricket match, thanks to his amazing 1994 performance where he scored 501 not out. With 400 not out in 2004, he also has the record for the most runs in a single Test inning. Batting with his left, Lara is also considered by many to be the greatest left-handed batsman of all time.

Best Cricket Players – Brian Lara is one of the all-time greats.

5. Wasim Akram

This legendary Pakistani cricketer is known as one of the best (and fastest) bowlers of all time. Akram was the first bowler to break the record for making 500 wickets in ODIs, and in total he took an unbeaten 881 in List A cricket across his career. Akram pioneered the technique of reverse swing bowling and was a great exponent of this tactic. He was also an excellent captain, renowned for his leadership of the Pakistani cricket team.

Best Cricket Players – Wasim Akram: First bowler to 500 ODI wickets

6. Sir Garfield Sobers

Another beloved figure in West Indies cricket is legendary all-rounder Sir Garfield Sobers. Sobers is arguably the greatest all-rounder of all-time, winning Wisden’s cricketer of the year eight times throughout his career (only Bradman has more, with 10). A cricketing genius, Sobers scored 8,032 Test runs at a remarkable average of 57.78. If that wasn’t enough, he took 235 wickets at 34.03, impacting many-a-Test in an incredible career.

Best Cricket Players – Garfield Sobers was an incredible all-rounder

7. Muttiah Muralitharan

The next legendary cricketer on our list comes from Sri Lanka. Muttiah Muralitharan is not only a hero in his native Sri Lanka but he is also considered by many to the best Test match bowler of all time. A pioneer of wrist-spinning and off-spinning, Muralitharan took 534 wickets in ODIs and 800 in Test cricket. He also holds the record as the only bowler to take 10 wickets in a Test on four occasons, and more than 50 wickets against every test-playing nation on earth.

Opinion: 8 Best Cricket Players of All-Time | Discussing the best cricketers of all-time | Listing the top 8 best cricket players ever
Best Cricket Players – Muttiah Muralitharan: spin wizard

8. Shane Warne

Cricket fans were blessed to have Muttiah Muralitharan starring at the same time as the great Shane Warne. Warne, undoubtedly the greatest wrist-spinner to ever play the game, revolutionised legspin bowling in the most remarkable way imaginable. Along with his incredible ability, Warne had a great cricketing brain, able to work batsmen over en-route to becoming the first bowler in history to reach 700 Test wickets.

Opinion: 8 Best Cricket Players of All-Time | Discussing the best cricketers of all-time | Listing the top 8 best cricket players ever
Best Cricket Players – Shane Warne: the best legspin bowler in history

Stuart Broad takes aim at selectors; “frustrated” and “angry” at omission

Charbel Coorey
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Stuart Broad takes aim at selectors; “frustrated” and “angry” at omission

Stuart Broad has expressed his dissatisfaction at being left out of the ongoing first Test against West Indies. Speaking with Sky Sports, England’s second-highest wicket taker didn’t mince any words when discussing how he felt about the decision.

“I’m not a particularly emotional person but I’ve found the last couple of days quite tough,” Broad said. “To say I was disappointed would be an understatement; you’re disappointed if you drop your phone and the screen breaks.”

Broad then made mention of how well he has bowled in the last year in particular, playing a key role in England’s Ashes and South Africa campaigns. The seamer took 23 wickets at 26.65 in the Ashes, before taking 14 wickets at 19.42.

“I’m frustrated, angry and gutted. It’s difficult to understand. I’ve probably bowled the best I’ve ever bowled the last couple of years, I felt like it was my shirt. Having been in the team in the Ashes and going to South Africa and winning there.”

Stuart Broad takes aim at selectors; "frustrated" and "angry" at omission | Stuart Broad expressed his dissatisfaction at being left out of Test
Stuart Broad speaking to Sky Sports

Broad spoke to national selector Ed Smith, who reassured him that he is still well in England’s plans for the near future. Specifically, Smith made mention of the fact that the Anderson-Wood-Archer trio was picked with the pitch in mind.

“I spoke to Ed Smith last night. He said he was involved in picking the 13 and this side was picked purely for this pitch,” Broad said. “I wanted clarification on my future going forward and I was given pretty positive feedback going forward. So yes, I was frustrated in the fact that I felt like I deserved a spot in the team.”

However, Broad then mirrored the thoughts of Darren Gough last month, stating that the competition for places is healthy.

“It’s great to see strength and depth in the fast bowling ranks. It’s the only way that England cricket moves forward and gets better. And with high competition in squads it keeps the standard high. Everyone is under pressure for their spots.”

Catch the interview here.

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Cricket Victoria reconsidering early-season plans as state suffers sharp COVID-19 rise

Sarthak Karkhanis
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Cricket Victoria reconsidering early-season plans as state suffers sharp COVID-19 rise

As Melbourne returned to lockdown due to a spike in COVID-19 numbers, Cricket Victoria is reconsidering its plans to start the domestic season.

The news comes as Victoria has had a triple-figure rise in cases for the fifth consecutive day, with cases crossing 1,000 in the state for the first time since the pandemic began. The biggest jump was in the last 24 hours, with 288 confirmed cases. Along with Melbourne, Mitchell Shire is also under lockdown with fresh border restrictions in place.

Shaun Graf, who is Cricket Victoria’s general manager of cricket, spoke about the situation in an interview with SEN Radio. “I’m just doing some pre-planning as to how it could look if we were forced to quarantine or get an exemption to be able to quarantine in one of the northern states or across the west,” said Graf.

“If we had to quarantine and these [Marsh Cup] games are later in September, we’d be looking to have to get out of here if we were able to early September, hopefully, get exemptions across the other states and play away from home. That’s one the scenarios I’m looking at, hence I’m looking at we could be away for anything up to two months.”

Cricket Victoria reconsidering early-season plans as Melbourne suffers sharp COVID-19 rise | Melbourne returned to lockdown due to spike in Covid-19 numbers
Cricket Victoria is currently assessing its options after Melbourne goes into lockdown.

Graf believed that cricket wouldn’t be as affected as other sports as the players are familiar with travelling. 

“We’ve spoken to players, it’s not quite the same as for football codes because we are used to travelling and being on the road a long period of time but everyone needs to know that this may be a scenario if we are to kick the season off. We’d have to make sure players stay within the compound of hotels, that’s something we’d need to look at because you haven’t got the freedom to go for a run or have a hit of gold so we’d have to look at those issues that footy has confronted. But generally from a travelling point of view it doesn’t really faze a cricket side as much as the football codes,” he added.

He also said that the six players who have taken the COVID-19 test have all been tested negative. As of now, the Victoria men’s and women’s camps are on despite the lockdown.

Written by Sarthak Karkhanis. Follow Sarthak on Twitter today.

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Will try our best to have an IPL in 2020: Ganguly

Sarthak Karkhanis
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Will try our best to have an IPL in 2020: Ganguly

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said that the board will try their best to host the IPL in 2020 and in India. The first priority will be to find a window which will be available only if the ICC cancels the T20 World Cup.

“We don’t know yet as we don’t have a decision from ICC regarding the T20 World Cup. We keep hearing different things from the media but unless it is officially told to Board members, you don’t know what’s happening,” Ganguly said on India Today’s show Inspiration.

If the IPL does happen overseas, the BCCI has a lot of factors to take care of and Ganguly elaborated on the same.

“We don’t want the year 2020 to finish without an IPL. Our first priority is India and even if we get 35 to 40 days, we will host it. But we don’t know where. I will put it in this order. Firstly, whether we can (have an IPL) within the time frame as IPL has limited window. Secondly India. If it’s not possible then we are thinking of going out (abroad). But going out where…because if you go out it becomes expensive for everyone — franchises and board. Because of conversion rate and currency exchange rate it becomes expensive. So we are monitoring but as I said we are very keen to host it and got our fingers crossed,” Ganguly added.

Also read: Sourav Ganguly not in support of four-day Tests

Will try our best to have an IPL in 2020: Ganguly | BCCI President Sourav Ganguly said that the board will try their best to host IPL in 2020 and in India
Will try our best to have an IPL in 2020: Ganguly

He also said that it is unlikely that cricket will happen in major cities.

“If it doesn’t happen in India because of COVID then places like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai; these have big teams in IPL but at this point, you can’t put hand to your heart and say cricket will happen in these places. Ahmedabad we were keen to go there. It’s an amazing stadium. I don’t know whether we can go there or not. It’s not easy at the moment to say we are going to host it in India.”

The Former Indian captain believes that it has helped that it is off-season for domestic cricket in India.

“See I want to have it as I said that cricket needs to be back. For us this is actually off season which has actually helped. We finished our season in March just after which IPL was about to start. And we had to cancel IPL which is the most important part of our domestic season. We want IPL to happen. Because life needs to be back to normal. Cricket needs to be back to normal.”

Ganguly remains committed to the IPL as he also remains committed to five-day Tests.

Written by Sarthak Karkhanis. Follow Sarthak on Twitter today.

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Stokes will lead England from the front: Tendulkar

Sarthak Karkhanis
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Stokes will lead England from the front: Tendulkar

Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar believes that Ben Stokes will lead England from the front in the first Test against West Indies and his infectious energy will come into play.

“He is someone who is going to lead from the front, we have seen that on a number of occasions. He is aggressive, positive and when he has to be slightly defensive he is prepared to do that for the team. I always feel controlled aggression produces results and so far whatever I have seen, the aggression has been there but it is controlled. So this is what I think of Ben Stokes,” he said while talking to Brian Lara on the 100MB app previewing the England vs West Indies series.

Tendulkar also said that in the future Stokes can be referred as one of the best English all-rounders of all time and in the same bracket as some of the past legends.

“For Ben Stokes from what he has been through in the recent past to where he is today it is a total transformation and it can happen only to someone who is mentally strong. When I first looked at him a few years ago, I could see his body language it was so positive and vibrant and that energy is infectious. I felt that he was one of those players where in time to come you look back and say Ben Stokes, (Andrew) Flintoff, Ian Botham these are the leading allrounders who played for England. I really rate him highly and his impact on the field is a major one.”

Stokes will lead England from the front: Tendulkar | Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar believes that Ben Stokes will lead from the front in the 1st Test
Stokes will lead England from the front: Tendulkar

Lara spoke fondly about his rivalries and great innings against England and Australia.

“I remembered a lot of innings I have played in the past, with Chanderpaul or Jimmy Adams. Those partnerships were so, so important in getting me to where I got to, getting the team the runs that were required. So again, with all the challenges that the West Indies team is going to face with the bat, partnerships are important, rotating the strike, making sure that you keep the bowlers’ best deliveries out and punish the bad ones. Putting runs of the on the board will be key for the West Indies,” the former West Indies player said.

“A good example would be Australia, playing against Australia and I would be on 78 or maybe 114 and McGrath comes back for a spell. I know he is going to bowl six overs-seven overs, so I don’t need to take any great risk if the other guys at the other end are giving me the opportunity to score,” Lara said.

Written by Sarthak Karkhanis. Follow Sarthak on Twitter today.

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Managing the over rate will be a challenge – Azhar Ali

Sarthak Karkhanis
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Managing the over rate will be a challenge – Azhar Ali

Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali believes that managing the over rate will be a challenge for the bowling side as cricket commences post the COVID-19 break. Azhar also heaped praise on the performance of his teammates in the practice match.

“There are some areas where we have to adapt. In this weather, it was only the fast bowlers who sweated so it was a challenge for us to shine the ball. But, that’s something which will change as the weather continues to get warm,” Azhar said.

As per ICC’s regulations, bowlers are disallowed to handover their caps and sweaters to the umpires and have to keep it outside the boundary before they start their bowling spell.

Azhar Ali elaborated on the problem

“The most challenging thing, however, was that the bowlers had to put their sweaters and caps outside the boundary rope because of which managing the over rate was getting a bit difficult. Especially in Yasir Shah’s case, he fields in the circle but had to go all the way to the boundary to put his things. But, I am comfortable that we will adapt to these changes as we still have a two-day and two four-day matches to play and they will help us.”

Managing the over rate will be a challenge – Azhar Ali

The captain was full of praise for his players and also backed players to adapt to the conditions.

“All the batsmen batted quite well especially Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq and Abid Ali seemed in total control. Shan Masood adapted well to the conditions and Mohammad Rizwan looked in good shape. Mohammad Abbas is our experienced bowler and his presence is of advantage for us as he also keeps guiding the youngsters. He is someone who can be a very important member of the attack for us. Naseem Shah bowled very well in the scenario-based match. He will attain more control as he continues to bowl,” Ali said as he asserted confidence in his players.

“Both batsmen and bowlers have adapted to the conditions,” he pointed out. “The wind was troubling the bowlers initially but they overcame it, which was heartening. Definitely, the players are going to need some time to adjust. Despite the break, they are in good shape which is a positive sign for us.”

Pakistan are continuing their preparations as England confirmed the dates of the three Tests and T20Is.

Written by Sarthak Karkhanis. Follow Sarthak on Twitter today.

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England name ODI training squad for 3-match series against Ireland

Charbel Coorey
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England name ODI training squad for 3-match series against Ireland

England have named a 24-man ODI training squad for their three-match series against Ireland, starting on July 30. It is a white-ball specialist squad, as the Test series against Pakistan begins on August 5, one day after the third ODI vs Ireland on August 4.

Eoin Morgan, World Cup winning captain, will lead a squad consisting of experienced players such as Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid. However, there are a number of up-and-coming players who are set to get a chance, which gives England the perfect opportunity to plan for the future.

England name ODI training squad for 3-match series against Ireland | England have named a 24-man ODI training squad for three-match series against Ireland
Eoin Morgan will lead the ODI training squad

Ed Smith, national selector, said “It has been a challenge, it has been a unique season. Everyone understands the fact that with no country cricket in the run up to some of these groups and then squads, we’ve had lots of different things to think about.”

“Obviously consistency is part of it; where we left off before, and also looking ahead a little bit. It’s been really good, for example, with the 30 people that trained here at the Ageas Bowl for the red-ball cricket to see some people alongside each other; to see the strength and depth we’re developing in red-ball cricket, and the same thing with this group that will come back here in preparation for the ODI series against Ireland, just to see what the depth is like in white-ball cricket, which is something we are always looking to deepen and expand.”

England ODI training squad

Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Henry Brookes, Brydon Carse, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Laurie Evans, Richard Gleeson, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Tom Helm, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, James Vince, David Willey

England vs Ireland ODI series schedule:

  • 1st ODI, Southampton – July 30
  • 2nd ODI, Southampton – August 1
  • 3rd ODI, Southampton – August 4

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Ganguly not in favour of four-day Tests

Sarthak Karkhanis
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Ganguly not in favour of four-day Tests

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly is not in favour of four-day Tests but talked highly of Day-Night Tests.

Four-day Tests are proposed by the ICC begin from 2023 to reduce a day’s cricket from the longest format to ease a bit of space in the packed calendar.

“I am not a big fan of four-day cricket because I feel lot of Test matches will not finish,” said Ganguly, who turned 48 on Wednesday. “When you have four days, the approach is different. I really feel that there is no need to tinker with those five-day Test matches. And for me Test matches are the toughest and the best form of cricket,” he said in an interview on the BCCI website.

Ganguly doesn't support 4-day Tests
NOTTINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM – JULY 31: Rahul Dravid (L) of India walks off with Sourav Ganguly during day five of the Second Test match between England and India at Trent Bridge on July 31, 2007 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Rahul Dravid;Sourav Ganguly

The former Indian captain spoke highly about Test cricket under floodlights.

“Day-night cricket, one Test a series is important, because cricket needs everyone back. We played that pink Test in Kolkata, I don’t think if it was a normal India-Bangladesh Test match we would have one tenth of the people,” he said.

Ganguly threw support behind four-day Tests as he remains committed to ensuring that the IPL has the best chance of going ahead in 2020.

Written by Sarthak Karkhanis. Follow Sarthak on Twitter today.

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Asia Cup 2020 cancelled, confirms Ganguly

Sarthak Karkhanis
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Asia Cup 2020 cancelled, confirms Ganguly

BCCI President Sourav Ganguly announced on Wednesday, July 8, that the Asia Cup 2020 has been cancelled. The decision was originally expected to come after the Asian Cricket Council meeting on July 9.

In a conversation with journalist Vikrant Gupta on Instagram Live, Ganguly spoke about a variety of issues like the future of the IPL, Australia tour, ICC Chairmanship and gave important updates related to the same.

“Asia Cup has been cancelled. It’s difficult to say which will be India’s first international series. We’ve done our preparations but we can’t do much till we know the government rules. We are not in a hurry because the health of players is of the utmost importance. We are monitoring things monthly,” Ganguly said.

He didnt give any further details on the issue.

Asia Cup 2020 cancelled, confirms Ganguly | BCCI President Sourav Ganguly announced on Wednesday, July 8, that the Asia Cup 2020 has been cancelled.
Asia Cup 2020 has been cancelled

Earlier, the tournament was supposed to be hosted by Pakistan in UAE after India refused to travel to Pakistan. But later, Pakistan and Sri Lanka swapped hosting rights among themselves for the 2020 and 2022 events.

Ganguly also informed that the future of the ICC T20 World Cup will be clear in a few days.

“(If the T20 World Cup gets cancelled) then we will try everything to stage the IPL. It is very important for Indian cricket. We will try to host it in India. The cancellation of T20 World Cup will happen soon because all countries are asking for a direction from ICC. We’ll know by mid-July. My gut-feeling is saying it’s tough, ” the former Indian captain added.

“The ICC is trying their best to stage the T20 World Cup because that brings in a lot of revenue. We don’t have a window for IPL yet because we have to play in Australia in December. That’s FTP and we can’t change that. Australia is one country where, apart from Melbourne, things are returning to normal.”

Written by Sarthak Karkhanis. Follow Sarthak on Twitter today.

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ENG vs WI: Twitter reacts to the (delayed) return of international cricket

Charbel Coorey
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ENG vs WI: Twitter reacts to the (delayed) return of international cricket

Cricket, glorious cricket, is back. But, England’s weather was up to its usual tricks, playing spoilsport as the entire first session was abandoned due to rain and a wet outfield.

Bummer.

However, fans on Twitter can dish up some beauties, and they didn’t disappoint as rain dampened the exciting mood somewhat.

ENG vs WI: Twitter reacts to the (delayed) return of international cricket
Strange but beautiful sight as the coin is tossed on the return of international cricket.

The best reactions to the delayed start to the 1st England vs West Indies Test:

England and rain? Cricket is truly back. Our game can fight just about anything, except one thing…

Love a good Simpsons/Cricket meme.

Our patience was certainly being tested. Time for England to invest in a roof or two.

2020, please. Just one request.

The countdown was on for the return of international cricket

Excitement was building as the England vs West Indies Test series drew closer. The best sport, alright!

The to-do list is simple. Block out everything. It is Test cricket time!

For some, the very sight of an upcoming live match was too much to handle! A beautiful sight.

Joy as international cricket finally resumed, Stokes adjusting to life as skipper, and surprise at Broad’s omission

Seeing international cricket back on the calendar is a sight to behold.

Fans took to Twitter to express their views on live cricket, just the way it used to be. It may be four months since international cricket was last played, but it seems more like an eternity given what the world has and continues to go through.

The boys shook hands and realised they shouldn’t. This is going to take some getting used to…

Here’s to an excellent Test match and series!

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