5 players with most consecutive ODI innings without a duck
Consistency is the key to batting in any form of cricket. Concentrating on ODIs, who do you think are the top five batters who have a run of innings without being dismissed for a duck?
Names such as AB de Villiers, Dean Jones, MS Dhoni, Kumar Sangakkara and Sourav Ganguly are all close but haven't made the top five. The person at the top of the list went 120 innings between ducks. Who could it be?
The players on the list have amassed 1,341 ODI games among them. All of them have captained their respective countries on numerous occasions. In the list, there are players who have represented Pakistan, West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and India. You will have noticed that there are six countries and only five players on the list. It should help to identify one of the players who has represented two nations in his career.
Let's countdown in reverse...
#5 Richie Richardson/Mohammed Yousuf - 92
The fifth spot on the list is jointly held by Richie Richardson and Mohammed Yousuf. They have 92 innings without a duck and both finished their careers with this record unbeaten.
Mohammed Yousuf's ODI career started with two ducks in his first eight innings in 1998. In 2000, he would be dismissed five times without scoring, including thrice in ten days against the West Indies.
His final run began in 2005 and included four centuries. His last game was against South Africa in Dubai in 2010.
Richie Richardson's run of innings started in 1990 and carried through until his last game which was the 1996 Cricket World Cup semi-final in Chandigarh. Richardson's 49 not out was not quite enough to win the match for the West Indies as Australia claimed victory by five runs.
He was dismissed for one run on four occasions and was one of Meyrick Pringle's victims at Christchurch in the 1992 Cricket World Cup when the South African took four wickets in 11 balls.