The great batsmen of the past
There have been many incredible batsman throughout cricket history, men who made their name as professional cricketers before becoming well-known professionals. They are considered to be top quality players, with some even being referred to as legends.
Many of these players were known for not only their batting skills, but also for other abilities they had as athletes. Some would win gold medals in their sport at the very highest level after retiring from playing cricket!
We will look at the ten greatest ever batsmen in this article, starting with an all-time great player himself — Sir Garfield Sobers.
Sir Garfield Sobers is one of the most famous nicknames in cricket. He played 17 seasons (1962–1988) of first class cricket for five different teams in three countries, scoring over 100 000 runs.
He was part of two ICC World Cup winning sides in England in 1970 and 1974, and he holds the world record for both the fastest century in a 50 over match and the second highest individual score in a One Day International (ODI).
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Rajesh Tendolkar is one of the greatest batsman to have ever played cricket. He is an icon of not only Indian cricket but also global cricket. His ability to master any style of batting has made him very popular throughout his career.
Tendulkar’s brilliance can never be understated. The number of records he holds are staggering, both as individual player and captain. As a person, he was known for being humble and down-to-earth.
He retired from international play in 2012 after leading India to their second consecutive World Cup win. Since then, he has focused more on coaching and developing up and coming players.
His legacy will live on forever though, as he continues to be regarded as the best batsman to have ever lived.
Brian Lara
There’s no doubt about it, cricket is a pretty popular game. Almost every country has their own version that people are very passionate about. The sport attracts large crowds at all levels which makes it very lucrative for the organizers to sell tickets and merchandise.
The top professional players make an incredible amount of money due to how much exposure they get from playing the game and being known worldwide. These elite level athletes are paid handsomely and constantly be asked questions about what strategies they use to improve their games.
But there’s one player who continually flies under the radar. He hasn’t won any major international tournaments yet but he still manages to rack up impressive stats. His consistency is something many consider his biggest strength because he never seems to lose his cool or tire of the game.
His talent was so strong that even though he didn’t win as many trophies as some other great batsmen, he always contributed highly to his team’s success. This article will look into his most important achievements as well as some fun stories related to him.
Adam Gilchrist
As mentioned earlier, cricket is one of the most popular sports in the world. There are several reasons for this. For one, it is very easy to follow. It does not require too many resources or facilities that people do not have access to. Even if you do not have much money, you can still watch some games as live streams are available.
Furthermore, the game is quite simple to understand. Most people who start watching cricket get easily caught up in the rhythm of the game. This goes both ways- whether you are an observer or a player. People who enjoy the sport usually know what will happen next because they have watched enough games.
Adam Gilchrist was one of the greatest batsman to ever play the game. Not only did he win multiple trophies while he was actively playing, but also after his retirement. He left his legacy through interviews, books, and other forms of media. All of these emphasize his knowledge and passion for the game.
His book The Art of Captaincy is just one example of this. In it, he shares his thoughts about being a leader of your team and how to use different strategies to achieve success. Many professional football (soccer) teams look at him as a source of inspiration.
Gilchrist played professionally from 1995 until 2013. During this time, he won seven consecutive Golden Glove awards as Australia’s top batter in the domestic season. He also scored over 10 000 runs in each of his ten
Donald Bradman
In his career, he scored more than 50 thousand runs, averaging over 52 per game. He is also one of only five people to have accumulated at least 100 centuries (a century being an object hit for 100 runs). He had 154 such feats which makes him the current record holder!
Bradman was not just limited to batting well during his time as a player, but he set new standards in terms of leadership too. As Australia’s captain from 1936 to 1948, he led them to six Ashes victories, making him their most successful leader ever.
He retired with the highest average of any batsman who has played 25 or more Tests – 51.66%! This means that even if you were to take all of your shots into account, he was still above par on average.
His success didn’t come easily though- it took him 16 years until he made his Test debut. But once he did, he never looked back!
Gary Sobers
Born March 24, 1950, in St Joseph’s Hospital in Lavender Hill, London, England, Gary William Frederick Sobel was an incredible cricketer who changed the way batsmen play cricket. He is considered one of the greatest hitters ever to have played the game and his highest score of 375 not out for South Africa against India at the 1966 World Cup remains the tournament record.
Sobers made his Test debut for England in 1970 and went on to represent them 102 times, scoring 6,741 runs with five centuries and 26 half-centuries. His average per innings was 49.57, making him one of the most consistent players in history.
He also represented West Indies 39 times, scoring 9,906 runs including six hundreds and ten 50+ scores. As captain he led West Indies to their first test victory over Australia in 48 years in 1983–their last win as leader until they were rebranded The Windies earlier this year.
His career batting average of 46.44 makes him the third all time great behind only Sir Donald Bradman (50.0) and Steven Smith (47.97). In fact, no other player has averaged above 45 since.
Sobers retired from international cricket after the 1986 Ashes series where he scored just 41 runs in three matches and finished his career with 5,895 runs in 103 tests, averaging 51.32 which is still second overall only to Sir Don.
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Mohammad Ali
In an era where batsmen can often be criticized for not doing anything but making solid contact, sometimes what makes a great player is just going up against it. This was clearly seen during Mohammed Azharuddin’s career as he consistently won praise for his ability to handle pressure while facing some of the best bowling attacks in world cricket.
Azhar made his Test debut at age 23 back in 1992 when Australia were playing India at home. He went down well with the Australian media who gave him good coverage throughout that match.
He then had to wait eight months before getting another opportunity due to injury but once he did he never looked like dropping out. By 1993, he had firmly established himself in both the Indian side and international cricket.
His greatest strength was always putting the team first and this was very much shown in the way he handled difficult situations. When he lost the captaincy in early 2002, most people thought he would walk away from the game. Instead, he kept working hard and eventually got re-appointed.
This shows how much he cared about the game and wanted to keep playing so he could represent his country again. His legacy will live on forever because even though he retired over five years ago, he has already been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
Sunil Gavaskar
In his career, Sunil Gavaskar played as a left-handed batsman for India. He is also considered one of the greatest players to have ever lived.
He was an integral part of the team that won back to back world titles in 1983 and 1984. During those years he formed a powerful batting partnership with his captain M.S. Dhoni.
His success did not come easily though. It took him eight seasons before he made it into The Test Team but once there he remained a key player for three more years.
In fact, during this time he scored over 5000 runs which makes him the fourth highest run scorer in history.
He retired in 1990 at the age of 29 after playing 111 Tests and 66 One Day Internationals (ODI) for India. His last match was against England where India lost by two wickets and he ended up being Man Of The Match.
Kevin Pietersen
There have been many great batsmen throughout cricket history, but no player comes close to matching what we call The Peter Parr!
The term ‘Parr’ was first coined when England captain Michael Vaughan referred to South Africa all-rounder Kevin Pieterson as such back in 2007 during an ODI against his team at Lord’s. Since then it has become one of the greatest accolades for any cricketer.
A parr is not only someone who can put up big scores in big games, but they are also smart players with the ability to pick out good opportunities with the ball.
KP was able to do both of these things consistently throughout his career, scoring heavily every time he played international cricket while picking away small gaps in defences like none other before or since.
He will go down as one of the best ever Test match batsman and Twenty20 specialist, leaving his legacy behind him that cannot be overlooked.
