Top 10 batsmen who achieved highest ICC ODI rating points in last two decades
There is no question more often asked on the face of the earth than this – Who is the best and greatest batsman ever? The criteria to decide the answer to this question varies from average to strike rate to number of centuries or a culmination of all of these.It goes without saying that there is no actual and well defined criteria to answer this question, and the question itself remains a matter of perception. However, a question that has a relatively lesser purview and generalization is – who are the players who have been the best as per the official ICC ratings?The ICC releases its ratings for batsmen, bowlers teams and all-rounders. The official ICC website generalizes that: The Reliance ICC Player Rankings are a sophisticated moving average. Players are rated on a scale of 0 to 1000 points. If a player’s performance is improving on his past record, his points increase; if his performance is declining his points will go down.The value of each player’s performance within a match is calculated using an algorithm, a series of calculations (all pre-programmed) based on various circumstances in the match. All of the calculations are carried out using pre-programmed formulae, using the information published in a match scorecard. There is no human intervention in this calculation process, and no subjective assessment is made.As for specifically ODI batsmen ratings, the ICC uses the following parameters in its algorithm:– Runs scored– Ratings of the opposing bowling attack; the higher the combined ratings of the attack, the more value is given to the batsman’s innings (in proportion)– The level of run-scoring in the match, and the team’s innings total; an innings of 100 runs in a match where all teams scored 500 is worth less than 100 runs in a match where all teams were bowled out for 200.– The result. Batsmen who score highly in victories receive a bonus. That bonus will be higher for highly rated opposition teams (i.e. win bonus against the current Australia team is higher than the bonus against Bangladesh.)– Batsmen gain significant credit for rapid scoring. They only get a small amount of credit for being not out (because a not out batsman is, by definition, batting at the end of the innings when the value of his wicket is low) (A possible reason why Dhoni just misses out)– Players lose half per cent (½%) of their points for missing a match for their country. All ODI matches are considered equal, except for ICC Cricket World Cup matches, where good performances gain extra credit. Big scores or wicket hauls against very weak nations get much less credit than the same performances against the main ODI countries. A very interesting aspect of such calculations is stated down by the ICC: The players’ ratings are calculated by combining their weighted performance in the latest match with their previous rating. This new ‘weighted average’ is then converted into points. Recent performances have more impact on a player’s rating than those earlier in his career, but all his performances are taken into account. A great player who has had a lean run of form will still have a respectable rating.Having cleared the air about the procedure, we look at the top 10 highest rated players ever since 1st January 1994.Special Mention: The following players just miss out from the list15) MS Dhoni: 836 v Australia, 31/10/200914) Sanath Jayasuriya: 838 v Bangladesh, 14/02/200313) Sourav Ganguly: 844 v South Africa, 17/03/200012) Matthew Hayden: 850 v India, 15/02/200311) Mark Waugh: 852 v New Zealand, 11/03/1996Note: The list contains a whopping 40% of players who achieved this in 2014, showing how uneven the contest between bat and ball has become in the recent past. – Very surprisingly, not only the top 10, but the top 15 as well includes players from merely four nations.
#10 Kumar Sangakkara
853 on 03/03/2014
Numbers in the last one year
| Innings | Not Out | Runs | High Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 4 | 1583 | 169 | 65.95 | 91.98 | 4 | 12 |
Notable Performances
68 vs New Zealand, Cardiff 9th June 2013: An innings worthy of a special mention. On a pitch where a total of 19 wickets fell for merely 277 runs, Sangakkara was in a word of his own, scoring 68 crucial runs albeit in a losing cause. The very fact that none of his team mates scored more than 20 and opponents more than 32 tells you about the character and class of this southpaw.
134 vs England at The Oval, 13th June 2013: Expect Sanga to do one better in the very next match and he does so with élan and ease. Sangakarra stroked his way to a masterful 134*, rendering a rather tricky chase of 293 moot. It is perhaps surprising that this was his first century in or against England – coming in his 13th year of International cricket.
169 vs South Africa at Colombo, 20th July 2013: Nothing short of a masterpiece. A completely different Sanga strode out to bat that day, a Sanga that would give the best hitters in the world a run for their money. In a match that nobody crossed the 50 run mark, his 169 was easily one of the best innings of the decade as yet.
Interesting facts:
– Sanga scored more than 50 in the last four matches he played up to reaching this ranking.
– He had 16 scores of 50 and above in 28 matches, meaning he scored more than 50 an astonishing 57% times he strode out to bat.