Nope...Sachin is 2nd 
#2 - Sachin Tendulkar
Role: RH opening batsman since the mid 90s, mostly #4 or #5 before that. Occasional RH off-spin/leg-spin/slow medium.
Debut: vs Pakistan, Gujranwala, 1989.
Matches: 463
Runs: 18426
Avg: 44.83
S/R: 86.23
Wkts: 154
Avg: 44.48
Econ: 5.10
Legacy: Gosh, what to write about this guy?? Tendulkar bats in a manner most people dream of, with an almost faultless technique, and exceptional timing. He picks up length so quickly and his balance at the crease gives him that smooth, classical look to his batting. On top of those classical full-face drives, Tendulkar has added an array of extra shots over the years like the paddle sweep or the cut shot over the slips to show he can improvise as well as anyone.
Hard to single out when Tendulkar's peak might have been, he's been consistently good most of the time. But his absolute best would have been around the turn of the century:
1997/98 - 2004: 169 ODIs, 7513 runs @ 50.42, S/R: 90.09, 25 100s
Then he struggled (relatively speaking
) with tennis elbow and a lack of form for a couple of years, before reviving again recently:
2006/07 - 2010/11: 90 ODIs, 3963 runs @ 48.92, S/R: 87.58, 9 100s
Put those 2 together and you have around a 260 ODI period where he averaged 50 at a strike rate around 90 - pretty mind boggling.
He holds a host of ODI records: most runs in ODI history; most 100s in ODI history; most Man of the Match awards in ODI history; most runs and 100s in World Cup history; most runs in a calendar year...and more! His 100 making record is probably his most impressive stat, and it's not just because he's played a lot of games. His 100s-matches played ratio is one of the best in history - maintained over a 23 year career! Critics of Tendulkar point to things like the number of 100s he has made in games that India still lost (14). But Tendulkar has still made more 100s in wins that any other batsmen has made outright (35), and his 14 100s in losing matches will be more by themselves than all but the best players ever make in total. Another who thrives on the big stage, with a great record in World Cups and tournament finals. Tendulkar averages 56.95 in 45 World Cup games and 54.44 in the 40 tournament finals he's played in.
Should mention his bowling as well, as not too many players have taken 154 ODI wickets. The best of Tendulkar's bowling was probably under Ganguly in the early 2000s. His most successful series was the 2004 Asia Cup. There he took 12 wickets in the 6 games, 2nd leading bowler of the tournament (behind Irfan Pathan!).
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 141 (128) & 4/38 (9.1) vs Australia, Dhaka, 1998. I wanted to find a match where Tendulkar did something with the ball as well and this one qualified nicely. It was the quarter-final of the first ever Champions Trophy. Kept his head when India were 2/8 early, before taking the Aussie attack apart, a "domineering innings" according to Wisden that guided India to 307. Then Tendulkar chimed in with a mix of off and leg spinners, capitalising on the desperation of the Aussie batsmen. He broke the Waugh/Bevan partnership, and ended any chance of a rear guard action.
2) 117* (120) vs Australia, Sydney, 2008. Important innings for Tendulkar and not just because he helped India win the first final of the triangular series. First, despite a good Test record in Australia, Tendulkar had never scored an ODI 100 in Australia before this game. Second, he hadn't made an ODI 100 for 12 months beforehand. Third, he finished the job - Tendulkar has often been criticised for being out after a 100, but short of a victory target. This time he saw India all the way home to the 240 required, with an innings full of the usual Tendulkar grace and style.
3) 200* (147) vs South Africa, Gwalior, 2010. The first 200 in ODI cricket, a great milestone. India piled up a massive 401, Tendulkar batting through the innings to get almost exactly half of those. 25 4s in this innings is equal highest ever (with Sehwag's 219). He paced it beautifully too: full of boundaries early to reach 50 off 37 balls; settling in the middle with the next 50 off 53 balls; before the final assault, the last 100 coming from only 57 balls. No bowler was spared, brilliant strokeplay from Tendulkar.
Highlights:
#1 - Viv Richards
Role: RH top order batsman - most often at #4, spent time at #3 and #5 too. Part time RH off-spinner/slow mediums.
Debut: vs Sri Lanka, Manchester, 1975.
Matches: 187
Runs: 6721
Avg: 47.00
S/R: 90.20
Wkts: 118
Avg: 35.83
Econ: 4.49
Legacy: Modern fans know about the destructive batting of guys like Gilchrist, Jayasuriya, Sehwag and Afridi. What they may not know, is that it all began with Sir Vivian Richards. Richards was "The Master Blaster" - the most valuable wicket in world cricket for most of his 16 year career. Viv could slap any bowler around the field (or over the fence) and do it with complete nonchalance - all without ever wearing a helmet. Was generally a leg side dominant player because he was expert at driving through mid on and mid wicket even when the ball was on or a little outside off stump. At his best against fast bowling, and was blessed with a quick eye and even quicker reactions. It's said that the only time Richards was beaten for pace was when he was snoozing. He was known to even occasionally taunt bowlers to try and bowl faster at him!
Comparatively, Richards owns the most impressive batting stats in ODI history. He averaged 47.00 at a time when the average was 29.38, and more impressively, had a strike rate of 90.20 when the average strike rate during his career was 65.96. That means he scored 1.45 RPO faster than the average batsman. That is a LOT! Only Sehwag and Afridi of modern batsman have scored that much faster than the average - and neither of them average 47...
A little like Tendulkar, Richards was a consistently strong performer over most of his career. The mid-80s were Richards' most productive period:
1983 - 1985/86: 64 ODIs, 2726 runs @ 63.39, S/R: 96.18, 5 100s
1983 - 1987/88: 101 ODIs, 3942 runs @ 53.27, S/R: 94.57, 8 100s
In fact, if he'd retired after that 87/88 season Richards' career average would have ended at 52.40 - those last few seasons in his late 30s were not his best. Richards was also a great matchwinner - proven by the fact he has the highest rate of Man of the Match awards in history. He won a staggering 31 MOTM awards in just 187 ODIs (every 6.03 games). He's equal 5th on the all-time MOTM list, despite playing less than half the games of the 4 players ahead of him. The other interesting thing with Richards (and most West Indians of that era) is that they played far more matches in Australia than in the West Indies. Only 33 of his 187 ODIs were played in the West Indies, compared to 73 ODIs in Australia.
Fielding and bowling add to his value. As a fieldsman, he was very good: athletic with good hands. Dangerous thrower too as the Aussies found out in the 1975 World Cup final where Richards famously ran out 3 Australians in their failed chase. His bowling became more useful with age: in 70 ODIs from 1984/85-1989/90 Richards took 55 wickets @ 31.62. He could bowl slow medium swing in seaming conditions, like Dunedin 1987 when he became the first player to score 100 and take 5 wickets in a match. Otherwise he was a very respectable off-spinner, providing some spin and quick overs as the big quicks took a breather.
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 138* (157) & 0/35 (10) vs England, Lord's 1979. Richards was Man of the Match in the 1979 World Cup final. England bowled and fielded well at the start, reducing West Indies to 4/99 with 30-35 overs still remaining. But Richards was still there and partnered the counterattacking Collis King to get out of trouble. Then Richards starting finding the boundary in the final overs once he'd passed 100. Not his most explosive innings, but one of his most important. Then bowled tidily to make sure the pressure really built up during England's chase. In the end, the required run rate was too high and Joel Garner cashed in with 5 wickets as England quickly collapsed to hand WI the trophy.
2) 189* (170) & 2/45 (11) vs England, Manchester, 1984. This might be the greatest ODI innings ever. WI were in terrible trouble at 7/102, and then 9/166 before Richards and Holding put on 106 in the last 14 overs, Holding only scoring 12 of those runs. Richards hit 21 4s and 5 6s in total, including one straight drive out of the ground. England only made 168 in reply, Lamb the only guy to get past 24.
3) 3/42 (8) & 110* (77) vs India, Rajkot, 1988. Viv's final 100 in ODIs, and it was a match winning one. Dismissed Azharuddin, Kapil Dev and keeper Viswanath before stepping up the pace as WI chased down 222 runs in 43 overs. Richards struck 7 6s and after getting to 50 in 49 balls, his last 60 came in just 28 balls. The acceleration was needed too as WI won with 17 balls to spare, all ground that Richards made up with his quick scoring.
Highlights:
#2 - Sachin Tendulkar
Role: RH opening batsman since the mid 90s, mostly #4 or #5 before that. Occasional RH off-spin/leg-spin/slow medium.
Debut: vs Pakistan, Gujranwala, 1989.
Matches: 463
Runs: 18426
Avg: 44.83
S/R: 86.23
Wkts: 154
Avg: 44.48
Econ: 5.10
Legacy: Gosh, what to write about this guy?? Tendulkar bats in a manner most people dream of, with an almost faultless technique, and exceptional timing. He picks up length so quickly and his balance at the crease gives him that smooth, classical look to his batting. On top of those classical full-face drives, Tendulkar has added an array of extra shots over the years like the paddle sweep or the cut shot over the slips to show he can improvise as well as anyone.
Hard to single out when Tendulkar's peak might have been, he's been consistently good most of the time. But his absolute best would have been around the turn of the century:
1997/98 - 2004: 169 ODIs, 7513 runs @ 50.42, S/R: 90.09, 25 100s
Then he struggled (relatively speaking
) with tennis elbow and a lack of form for a couple of years, before reviving again recently:2006/07 - 2010/11: 90 ODIs, 3963 runs @ 48.92, S/R: 87.58, 9 100s
Put those 2 together and you have around a 260 ODI period where he averaged 50 at a strike rate around 90 - pretty mind boggling.
He holds a host of ODI records: most runs in ODI history; most 100s in ODI history; most Man of the Match awards in ODI history; most runs and 100s in World Cup history; most runs in a calendar year...and more! His 100 making record is probably his most impressive stat, and it's not just because he's played a lot of games. His 100s-matches played ratio is one of the best in history - maintained over a 23 year career! Critics of Tendulkar point to things like the number of 100s he has made in games that India still lost (14). But Tendulkar has still made more 100s in wins that any other batsmen has made outright (35), and his 14 100s in losing matches will be more by themselves than all but the best players ever make in total. Another who thrives on the big stage, with a great record in World Cups and tournament finals. Tendulkar averages 56.95 in 45 World Cup games and 54.44 in the 40 tournament finals he's played in.
Should mention his bowling as well, as not too many players have taken 154 ODI wickets. The best of Tendulkar's bowling was probably under Ganguly in the early 2000s. His most successful series was the 2004 Asia Cup. There he took 12 wickets in the 6 games, 2nd leading bowler of the tournament (behind Irfan Pathan!).
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 141 (128) & 4/38 (9.1) vs Australia, Dhaka, 1998. I wanted to find a match where Tendulkar did something with the ball as well and this one qualified nicely. It was the quarter-final of the first ever Champions Trophy. Kept his head when India were 2/8 early, before taking the Aussie attack apart, a "domineering innings" according to Wisden that guided India to 307. Then Tendulkar chimed in with a mix of off and leg spinners, capitalising on the desperation of the Aussie batsmen. He broke the Waugh/Bevan partnership, and ended any chance of a rear guard action.
2) 117* (120) vs Australia, Sydney, 2008. Important innings for Tendulkar and not just because he helped India win the first final of the triangular series. First, despite a good Test record in Australia, Tendulkar had never scored an ODI 100 in Australia before this game. Second, he hadn't made an ODI 100 for 12 months beforehand. Third, he finished the job - Tendulkar has often been criticised for being out after a 100, but short of a victory target. This time he saw India all the way home to the 240 required, with an innings full of the usual Tendulkar grace and style.
3) 200* (147) vs South Africa, Gwalior, 2010. The first 200 in ODI cricket, a great milestone. India piled up a massive 401, Tendulkar batting through the innings to get almost exactly half of those. 25 4s in this innings is equal highest ever (with Sehwag's 219). He paced it beautifully too: full of boundaries early to reach 50 off 37 balls; settling in the middle with the next 50 off 53 balls; before the final assault, the last 100 coming from only 57 balls. No bowler was spared, brilliant strokeplay from Tendulkar.
Highlights:
#1 - Viv Richards
Role: RH top order batsman - most often at #4, spent time at #3 and #5 too. Part time RH off-spinner/slow mediums.
Debut: vs Sri Lanka, Manchester, 1975.
Matches: 187
Runs: 6721
Avg: 47.00
S/R: 90.20
Wkts: 118
Avg: 35.83
Econ: 4.49
Legacy: Modern fans know about the destructive batting of guys like Gilchrist, Jayasuriya, Sehwag and Afridi. What they may not know, is that it all began with Sir Vivian Richards. Richards was "The Master Blaster" - the most valuable wicket in world cricket for most of his 16 year career. Viv could slap any bowler around the field (or over the fence) and do it with complete nonchalance - all without ever wearing a helmet. Was generally a leg side dominant player because he was expert at driving through mid on and mid wicket even when the ball was on or a little outside off stump. At his best against fast bowling, and was blessed with a quick eye and even quicker reactions. It's said that the only time Richards was beaten for pace was when he was snoozing. He was known to even occasionally taunt bowlers to try and bowl faster at him!
Comparatively, Richards owns the most impressive batting stats in ODI history. He averaged 47.00 at a time when the average was 29.38, and more impressively, had a strike rate of 90.20 when the average strike rate during his career was 65.96. That means he scored 1.45 RPO faster than the average batsman. That is a LOT! Only Sehwag and Afridi of modern batsman have scored that much faster than the average - and neither of them average 47...
A little like Tendulkar, Richards was a consistently strong performer over most of his career. The mid-80s were Richards' most productive period:
1983 - 1985/86: 64 ODIs, 2726 runs @ 63.39, S/R: 96.18, 5 100s
1983 - 1987/88: 101 ODIs, 3942 runs @ 53.27, S/R: 94.57, 8 100s
In fact, if he'd retired after that 87/88 season Richards' career average would have ended at 52.40 - those last few seasons in his late 30s were not his best. Richards was also a great matchwinner - proven by the fact he has the highest rate of Man of the Match awards in history. He won a staggering 31 MOTM awards in just 187 ODIs (every 6.03 games). He's equal 5th on the all-time MOTM list, despite playing less than half the games of the 4 players ahead of him. The other interesting thing with Richards (and most West Indians of that era) is that they played far more matches in Australia than in the West Indies. Only 33 of his 187 ODIs were played in the West Indies, compared to 73 ODIs in Australia.
Fielding and bowling add to his value. As a fieldsman, he was very good: athletic with good hands. Dangerous thrower too as the Aussies found out in the 1975 World Cup final where Richards famously ran out 3 Australians in their failed chase. His bowling became more useful with age: in 70 ODIs from 1984/85-1989/90 Richards took 55 wickets @ 31.62. He could bowl slow medium swing in seaming conditions, like Dunedin 1987 when he became the first player to score 100 and take 5 wickets in a match. Otherwise he was a very respectable off-spinner, providing some spin and quick overs as the big quicks took a breather.
Three of the best (matches in chronological order):
1) 138* (157) & 0/35 (10) vs England, Lord's 1979. Richards was Man of the Match in the 1979 World Cup final. England bowled and fielded well at the start, reducing West Indies to 4/99 with 30-35 overs still remaining. But Richards was still there and partnered the counterattacking Collis King to get out of trouble. Then Richards starting finding the boundary in the final overs once he'd passed 100. Not his most explosive innings, but one of his most important. Then bowled tidily to make sure the pressure really built up during England's chase. In the end, the required run rate was too high and Joel Garner cashed in with 5 wickets as England quickly collapsed to hand WI the trophy.
2) 189* (170) & 2/45 (11) vs England, Manchester, 1984. This might be the greatest ODI innings ever. WI were in terrible trouble at 7/102, and then 9/166 before Richards and Holding put on 106 in the last 14 overs, Holding only scoring 12 of those runs. Richards hit 21 4s and 5 6s in total, including one straight drive out of the ground. England only made 168 in reply, Lamb the only guy to get past 24.
3) 3/42 (8) & 110* (77) vs India, Rajkot, 1988. Viv's final 100 in ODIs, and it was a match winning one. Dismissed Azharuddin, Kapil Dev and keeper Viswanath before stepping up the pace as WI chased down 222 runs in 43 overs. Richards struck 7 6s and after getting to 50 in 49 balls, his last 60 came in just 28 balls. The acceleration was needed too as WI won with 17 balls to spare, all ground that Richards made up with his quick scoring.
Highlights:
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, its been an interesting thread, I haven't posted much in this thread, but I have followed it right from the beginning.
