Cricket: Top five greatest players of all time?

Cricket has produced some magnificent players over the years, and we have selected the five best of all time.

The game of cricket has advanced so much from when it was first introduced in the 16th century to today’s game. We now have hawk-eye, which first inaugurated in 2001. The technology used is the same they use in both brain surgeries and missile tracking.

The idea behind hawk-eye is to allow teams to review leg before wicket decisions, to ultimately discover whether the ball will hit the stumps or not.

This is just one of the few technology advances in cricket, which has grown enormously worldwide, with a report suggesting that the game’s media rights is set to be worth over $2 billion dollars by the end of this year, according to a report published by Media Partners Asia.

The Indian Premier League, which was established in 2008 has played a monumental part in this and was the first sporting event to be broadcast live on Youtube, in 2010.

In terms of the game itself, it has appeared to gain more traction, and the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England and Wales was watched by an estimated 2.6 billion people worldwide; a staggering statistic.

We will now bring you our top five greatest cricketers of all time below, which includes a special mention to a phenomenal batsman, who is just edged out of our list.

Special Mention: Vivian Richards

The West Indies batsman was incredibly unfortunate to miss out on the top five of our list, but he deserves a special mention for his incredible performances throughout his career.

Richards represented the Windies between 1974 and 1991, scoring an impressive 8,540 runs in just 121 test matches, at an average of 50.23 — this included hitting 23 centuries. He was also the captain of the West Indies side and guided them to winning 27 from a possible 50 test matches, losing just eight of them.

He also 7,000 runs in One Day Internationals and 36, 212 in first-class cricket. Richards played his last game for his country in a test match against England, in 1991 and played for the likes of Combined Islands, Leeward Islands, Somerset, Queensland and Glamorgan throughout his domestic career.

The ‘Master Blaster’ was then subsequently inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009, in what was testament to all the achievements he conquered as a cricketer.

5. Sir Don Bradman

After making his debut in 1928 for Australia against England, ‘The Don’ went onto feature in 52 test matches, scoring 6,996 runs and has been deemed one of the greatest batsman of all time.

Bradman also played 234 first-class matches for Australia, scoring 28,067 runs, including having a top score of 452, not out, hitting 117 centuries and 69 half centuries in the process.

The New South-Wales born cricketer greatest achievement is setting an unprecedented test batting average of 99.94. Bradman also represented both New South Wales and South Australia, playing his last game in 1949.

There is no doubt that Bradman was unlucky not to be higher in this list, given what he achieved in his illustrious career and was named the ‘Greatest living Australian’ by former prime minister John Howard, in 1997.

Like Richards, Bradman was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009. He passed away in Kensington, South Australia, aged 92.

4. Muttiah Muralitharan

The outstanding Muttiah Muralitharan, who is arguably the best bowler of all time. The Sri Lankan made his international debut in 1992 and went onto take a remarkable 800 wickets in 133 test matches; the most of all time, as well as earning the most man of the series awards — 11 in total.

The now 48 year-old also took 10 wickets in a test match on 22 occasions and five wickets in an innings, 67 times. Murali also has 534 ODI wickets and 1,374 first-class wickets to his name.

Domestically, Muralitharan represented 11 different teams, including Lancashire, Kent, Gloucestershire, Chennai Superkings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The right-arm off-break bowler played his last game for the Lions in a T20 match against Australia, on the 31st October, 2010. He was also the first Sri Lankan player to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2017, following his triumphs as a cricketer.

3. Brian Lara

Brian Lara was an absolutely sensational left-handed batsman and when he was in the crease, he was almost impossible to get out.

He played in 131 test matches for West Indies after making his debut against Pakistan on December 6th 1990. Lara went onto score a whopping 11,953 test match runs, with a batting average of 52.8.

His top score for the West Indies in a test match was 400* not out, when he played against England at St John’s, in Antigua, in 2004 and is the highest score by an individual in test match history.

He also set the highest score in first-class cricket, hitting an astonishing 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston, in 1994.

Lara also represented Trinidad & Tobago domestically, where he was born, between 1987 and 2008, as well as Transvaal, Warwickshire and Southern Rocks.

He was one of the most naturally gifted batsman to play the game and retired internationally in an ODI match against England, in 2007.

Not only was he a master in the game of cricket; Lara also had a video game series named after him. The first edition of the game was released in 1994, named ‘Brian Lara Cricket,’ with the latest release of the game coming in 2007, which was called ‘Brian Lara Pressure Play.’

There were six games which were produced in total and they were available to play on various different consoles, which includes the DOS, Sega Mega Drive, Commodore Amiga, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Vita and Xbox.

2. Sir Garfield Sobers

Born on 28th July, 1936, Garfield Sobers is considered to be the best all-rounder of all time. During his career for the West Indies, he took 235 test wickets in 93 games, as well as scoring 8,032 runs since making his debut on the 30th March, 1954.

His top score was an impressive 365* not out at the age of just 21, when he hit at Sabina Park, in 1958, as the West Indies scored a phenomenal 790 for three wickets, winning by an innings against Pakistan. That record would stay in tact until 1994, when Sobers’ fellow countryman, Brian Lara hit 375.

Sobers also scored 28,314 runs in first-class cricket, and took a further 1,034 wickets. He would also represent Barbados, South Australia and Nottinghamshire domestically.

His unpredictable mix of bowling used to cause havoc for the teams he use to face, supplemented with his explosiveness in the crease. He was rarely phased whilst playing the sport he loved and would go onto play international cricket for 20 years, retiring in a test match against England, on the 5th April, 1974.

As an act of Parliament, in 1998 he was named as one of the top 10 national heroes of Barbados and go on to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009, following a glittering career. He will be remembered as one of the most talented players of all time, due to his versatility on the cricket pitch.

1. Sachin Tendulkar

The master of the sport, Sachin Tendulkar. He had to be our number one. The way he used to hit the ball was magnificent and he has broken a whole host of batting records, after making his debut at just 16 years of age against Pakistan at Karachi, on the 15th November, 1989.

Tendulkar holds the record for the most runs scored in international cricket. He is also the only player to score over 30,000 runs on the international stage, as well as being the only player to hit 100 centuries for his nation. Australian batsman Ricky Ponting is in second with 71, followed closely in third by Tendulkar’s fellow countryman, Virat Kohli, who has 70.

The now 47 year-old was also the first player to score a double century in a One Day International match.

That feat has now been surpassed by the likes of Martin Guptill, Virender Sehwag, Fakhar Zaman, and the outstanding Rohit Sharma, who hit an unprecedented 264 for India against Sri Lanka on the 13th November, 2014.

During his test match career, Tendulkar also hit 51 centuries and 68 half centuries, with a batting average of 53.78. His top score came against Bangladesh in a test match on December 13th, 2004, when he hit 248 not out, as India won by an innings and 140 runs.

In terms of domestic cricket, Tendulkar represented Mumbai, Yorkshire, East Bengal and the Mumbai Indians, who retired his iconic number 10 shirt. He would go onto play for India for 14 years, before announcing his retirement from all formats on 16th November, 2013, two days after playing his final test match, against the West Indies in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

Tendulkar is treated like a king in India following all of the success he achieved on the cricket pitch — and was named one of the most influential people in the world, by Time Magazine, in 2010. The Indian superstar was also inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009, after a glowing career both domestically and internationally.