Top 10 Greatest Cricketers in the World of All Time

Sachin Tendulkar is known as the “God of Cricket.” He made his debut at age 16 against Pakistan and never looked back, amassing the most runs in both ODIs and Tests.

He has scored 100 international centuries, 29 more than second-best Ricky Ponting, and scored the most runs in World Cups, 2,278, at an incredible average of 56.95.

He played many memorable knocks and won many games single-handedly. He also experienced losing several games because of a lack of support from the other end.

Tendulkar carried the hopes of millions every time he walked up to bat and didn’t disappoint. He was the reason people made cricket a profession, and many started watching cricket just to see him bat. It was no surprise that cricket viewership dipped after his retirement.

Ricky Ponting

Experience: 1995-2012

Country: Australia

Other major teams: Mumbai Indians, Somerset, Surrey, Tasmania

Career stats in Tests: 168 matches, 13,378 runs, 51.85 average, 58.72 strike rate, 257 highest score, 41 100s

Career stats in ODIs: 375 matches, 13,704 runs, 42.03 average, 80.39 strike rate, 164 highest score, 30 100s

Ricky Ponting is the biggest match-winner with the bat for Australia in the modern era. The Aussies posted a mammoth 359-2 in the World Cup final against India in 2003, thanks to an excellent 140 (128) by Ponting.

The right-hander is the second-highest run-getter in Tests, third-highest run-getter in ODIs, and second-highest run-getter in World Cups.

He also was the Man of the Match in the inaugural T20I against New Zealand, scoring an unbeaten 98 in just 55 balls.

Brian Lara

Experience: 1990-2007

Country: West Indies

Other major teams: Northern Transvaal, Southern Rocks, Trinidad & Tobago, Warwickshire

Career stats in Tests: 131 matches, 11,953 runs, 52.88 average, 60.51 strike rate, 400 highest score, 34 100s

Career stats in ODIs: 299 matches, 10,405 runs, 40.48 average, 79.51 strike rate, 169 highest score, 19 100s

Who was the toughest to ball to? If you ask this question to premier bowlers of the 1990s and early 2000s, most would say it was Brian Lara. The elegant left-hander played pace and spin equally well.

His 400 against England in 2004 is the highest individual score in Tests. His 375 against England in 1994 is third on the list of highest individual scores in the longest format of the game.

Lara was the only player who appeared twice in the list of ESPNCricinfo’s top 25 Test batting performances of all time, with his 153 and 213 against Australia in 1999.

Viv Richards

Experience: 1974-91

Country: West Indies

Other major teams: Combined Islands, Glamorgan, Leeward Islands, Queensland, Somerset

Career stats in Tests: 121 matches, 8,540 runs, 50.66 average, 50.23 strike rate, 294 highest score, 24 100s

Career stats in ODIs: 187 matches, 6,721 runs, 47.00 average, 90.20 strike rate, 189 highest score, 11 100s

Viv Richards was way ahead of his contemporaries — he had a strike rate of 90.2 in ODIs in the 1970s and 1980s when most batsmen scored at a rate of 60-70.

The swashbuckling right-hander, one of the five Wisden cricketers of the 20th century, held the record for the fastest 100 off 56 balls in Tests for 40 years, before Brendon McCullum broke the record in 2015.

In 1976, Richards scored a whopping 1,710 runs at an average of 90 with seven centuries from 11 Tests.

Richards had a good record in World Cups — 1,013 runs at an average of 63.31. He guided West Indies to a World Cup win in 1979, making an unbeaten 138 off 157 balls against England in the final. In addition, he was the second-highest run-getter in the 1979 and 1983 editions of the showpiece event of the 20th century.

Wally Hammond

Experience: 1927-47

Country: England

Other major teams: Gloucestershire, South Africa Air Force

Career stats in Tests: 85 matches, 7,249 runs, 58.45 average, 336 highest score, 22 100s

To average over 50 in Tests is considered excellent, and Wally Hammond averaged 58.46. But he had to stay satisfied as to the second-best since he played in the era of Bradman, who averaged an unbelievable 99.94. Hammond’s average in Tests is the best among batsmen who made 7,000-plus runs.

He holds the record of the fastest player to score 7,000 runs in terms of innings played. He also was the first player to cross the 7,000-run mark and was the highest run-getter when he retired.

The English middle-order batsman was the first player to aggregate 900-plus runs in a series when he made 905 runs against Australia at an average of 113.12 in the Ashes in 1928. He also amassed 50,551 runs in first-class cricket (third-best of all time), including 167 hundred.

Jack Hobbs

Experience: 1908-30

Country: England

Other major teams: Maharaj Kumar of Vizianagram’s XI, Surrey

Career stats in Tests: 61 matches, 5,410 runs, 56.94 average, 42.51 strike rate, 211 highest score, 15 100s

When Jack Hobbs hung up his boots, he was the highest run-getter in Tests, 1,998 ahead of Clem Hill, and Hobbs made those runs at an excellent average of 56.94.

His average as an opener, 56.37 is the third-best of all time (with at least 4000-plus runs). He also is the oldest player to score a hundred, posting 142 against Australia in Melbourne in 1929 when he was 46 years and 82 days old.

The former England opener is the only player to score 60,000-plus runs in first-class cricket. He also hit 199 centuries in first-class cricket, 29 ahead of Patsy Hendren.

Jacques Kallis

Experience: 1995-2014

Country: South Africa

Other major teams: Cape Cobras, Glamorgan, Kolkata Knight Riders, Middlesex

Career stats in Tests: 166 matches, 13,289 runs, 55.37 average, 45.97 strike rate, 224 highest score, 45 100s

Career stats in ODIs: 328 matches, 11,579 runs, 44.36 average, 72.89 strike rate, 139 highest score, 17 100s

Jacques Kallis amassed 10,000-plus runs in both Tests and ODIs and is the third-highest run-getter in Tests and seventh-highest run-getter in ODIs. He is known as the greatest all-rounder of the modern era, picking up 250-plus wickets in both formats.

The South Africa player has scored 45 centuries in Tests, second-most by any batsman behind Tendulkar. Also, Kallis holds the record of the most Man of the Match awards in Tests with 23.

Kallis scored five centuries in five consecutive Tests in the 2003-04 season — second only Bradman, who scored six centuries in consecutive matches — and the right-hander ended his Test career on a high note by scoring 115 in his last match.

Kumar Sangakkara

Experience: 2000-2015

Country: Sri Lanka

Other major teams: Sunrisers Hyderabad, Surrey, Warwickshire

Career stats in Tests: 134 matches, 12,400 runs, 57.40 average, 54.19 strike rate, 319 highest score, 38 100s

Career stats in ODIs: 404 matches, 14,234 runs, 41.98 average, 78.86 strike rate, 169 highest score, 25 100s

Bottom line: These are Kumar Sangakkara’s last five innings in his ODI career: 105, 117, 104, 124, 45. He stopped playing when he was at his peak. He is the only player to hit four consecutive centuries in ODIs and did it in a World Cup.

He is the second-highest run-getter in ODIs and sixth-highest run-getter in Tests. His Test average, 57.40, is the highest among batsmen who made 10,000-plus runs.

Big players perform on big stages, and “Sanga” did exactly that in the 2014 WT20 final. He was struggling throughout the tournament but scored a match-winning 52 (35) against India in the final.

These are Kumar Sangakkara’s last five innings in his ODI career: 105, 117, 104, 124, 45. He stopped playing when he was at his peak. He is the only player to hit four consecutive centuries in ODIs and did it in a World Cup.

He is the second-highest run-getter in ODIs and sixth-highest run-getter in Tests. His Test average, 57.40, is the highest among batsmen who made 10,000-plus runs.

Big players perform on big stages, and “Sanga” did exactly that in the 2014 WT20 final. He was struggling throughout the tournament but scored a match-winning 52 (35) against India in the final.

Gary Sobers

Experience: 1954-74

Country: West Indies

Other major teams: Barbados, Nottinghamshire, South Australia

Career stats in Tests: 93 matches, 8,032 runs, 57.78 average, 365 highest score, 26 100s

Gary Sobers is arguably the greatest all-rounder of all time. Bradman once called him a “five in one cricketer” because Sobers excelled in all cricketing skills with wicket-keeping as the only exception.

He broke the record of the highest individual score against Pakistan in 1958 by scoring 365, a record which stood for 36 years. It’s still the fourth-highest individual score in Tests. His average of 57.78 is the best among players who have made 8,000-plus runs.

The southpaw is the first batsman to hit six sixes in an over in first-class cricket. He started his career as a bowler, which makes these batting records all the more impressive.

Gary Sobers is arguably the greatest all-rounder of all time. Bradman once called him a “five in one cricketer” because Sobers excelled in all cricketing skills with wicket-keeping as the only exception.

He broke the record of the highest individual score against Pakistan in 1958 by scoring 365, a record which stood for 36 years. It’s still the fourth-highest individual score in Tests. His average of 57.78 is the best among players who have made 8,000-plus runs.

The southpaw is the first batsman to hit six sixes in an over in first-class cricket. He started his career as a bowler, which makes these batting records all the more impressive.