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Wisden 100

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Wisden 100

Summary

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The Wisden 100 is a set of lists created by Wisden which attempted to objectively rate the 100 best individual innings performances in Test and One Day International cricket in each of the disciplines of batting and bowling. The Test list was released in 2001 and the ODI list was released in 2002.

The ratings were calculated by scoring each individual batting and bowling performance in various criteria. Apart from the player's actual score or figures, criteria which were taken into account included the strength of the opposition players, the quality of the pitch, the result of the match, and the player's contribution to this result. The maximum possible rating was 300.

Overall in both formats, 13 innings of Vivian Richards were selected by Wisden more than anyone in the list.

Test cricket

Harbhajan, pictured here bowling in the nets, was one of only two players to have four bowling performances in the top 100.

The Wisden 100 list for Test cricket was released on 26 July 2001.

The top-rated batting performance was Donald Bradman's 270 for Australia against England at Melbourne in the 1936–37 Ashes series. 5 of Bradman's innings appeared in the top 100, more than any other batsman.

The top-rated bowling performance was Hugh Tayfield's 9/113 for South Africa against England at Johannesburg in the 1956–57 series. Curtly Ambrose and Harbhajan Singh each had 4 performances in the top 100, more than any other bowler.

Top 10 Batting performances

RankBatsmanScoreForAgainstVenueSeasonRating
1Donald Bradman270AustraliaEnglandMelbourne1936–37262.4
2Brian Lara153*West IndiesAustraliaBridgetown1998–99255.2
3Graham Gooch154*EnglandWest IndiesLeeds1991252.0
4Ian Botham149*EnglandAustraliaLeeds1981240.8
5Donald Bradman299*AustraliaSouth AfricaAdelaide1931–32236.8
6V. V. S. Laxman281IndiaAustraliaKolkata2000–01234.8
7Clem Hill188AustraliaEnglandMelbourne1897–98234.2
8Azhar Mahmood132PakistanSouth AfricaDurban1997–98232.6
9Kim Hughes100*AustraliaWest IndiesMelbourne1981–82229.7
10Brian Lara375West IndiesEnglandSt. John's1993–94228.1

For the full list, see Top 100 Batsmen (Test) at Rediff.com.

Top 10 Bowling performances

RankBowlerFiguresForAgainstVenueSeasonRating
1Hugh Tayfield9/113South AfricaEnglandJohannesburg1956–57253.9
2Anil Kumble10/74IndiaPakistanDelhi1998–99248.6
3Jim Laker10/53EnglandAustraliaManchester1956241.7
4Jack White8/126EnglandAustraliaAdelaide1928–29238.8
5Richard Hadlee9/52New ZealandAustraliaBrisbane1985–86237.1
6Devon Malcolm9/57EnglandSouth AfricaThe Oval, London1994234.4
7Bob Willis8/43EnglandAustraliaLeeds1981226.1
8Hedley Verity8/43EnglandAustraliaLord's, London1934225.1
9Bill O'Reilly7/54AustraliaEnglandTrent Bridge1934224.3
10Graham McKenzie8/71AustraliaWest IndiesMelbourne1968–69224.1

For the full list, see Top 100 Bowlers (Test) at Rediff.com.

Controversy

Despite his highly impressive career record, not one of Sachin Tendulkar's innings appeared in the top 100 batting performances. His omission was strongly criticised by fans and many sections of the media in India. Wisden defended the list stating that performances which made a major contribution to victory received a much larger weighting than those in which the match was drawn or lost. Tendulkar's most important innings had usually come in draws and defeats, and therefore received a lower weighting.

The list also received general criticism from a few leading sports editors.

Updating the list

The list has had no official updated release since its inception. However, shortly after the list's release, Wisden stated that Mark Butcher's match-winning innings of 173* in the 4th Test of the 2001 Ashes series placed him in 48th place on the batting list with a rating of 200.8.

ODI cricket

Following the success of the list for Test cricket, the Wisden 100 list for ODI cricket was released on 1 February 2002.

The top-rated batting performance was Viv Richards' 189* for West Indies against England at Manchester in 1984. 7 of Richards' innings appeared in the top 100, more than any other batsman.

The top-rated bowling performance was Gary Gilmour's 6/14 for Australia against England at Leeds in 1975. Waqar Younis appears 9 times in the top 100, more than any other player.

Top 10 Batting performances

RankBatsmanScoreForAgainstVenueYearRating
1Viv Richards189*West IndiesEnglandOld Trafford1984257.59
2Viv Richards138*West IndiesEnglandLord's, London1979245.76
3Sanath Jayasuriya189Sri LankaIndiaSharjah2000245.33
4Kapil Dev175*IndiaZimbabweTunbridge Wells1983241.87
5Saeed Anwar194PakistanIndiaChennai1997225.62
6David Gower158EnglandNew ZealandBrisbane1983219.84
7Brian Lara169West IndiesSri LankaSharjah1995215.21
8Aravinda de Silva107*Sri LankaAustraliaLahore1996212.91
9Clive Lloyd102West IndiesAustraliaLord's, London1975209.84
10Brian Lara153West IndiesPakistanSharjah1993204.46

For the full list, see Top 100 Batsmen (ODI) at Rediff.com.

Top 10 Bowling performances

RankBowlerFiguresForAgainstVenueYearRating
1Gary Gilmour6/14AustraliaEnglandLeeds1975205.56
2Aaqib Javed7/37PakistanIndiaSharjah1991202.25
3Waqar Younis7/36PakistanEnglandLeeds2001181.34
4Chaminda Vaas8/19Sri LankaZimbabweColombo2001174.94
5Chaminda Vaas5/14Sri LankaIndiaSharjah2000173.93
6Joel Garner5/38West IndiesEnglandLord's, London1979172.78
7Sunil Joshi5/6IndiaSouth AfricaNairobi1999170.66
8Shaun Pollock5/36South AfricaAustraliaBirmingham1999161.99
9Muttiah Muralitharan7/30Sri LankaIndiaSharjah2000160.02
10Madan Lal3/31IndiaWest IndiesLord's, London1983158.50

For the full list, see Top 100 Bowlers (ODI) at Rediff.com.

Updating the list

As with the Test cricket list, this list has had no official updated release since its inception. However, Wisden stated that Ricky Ponting's 140* against India in the 2003 World Cup final placed him 2nd on the batting list.

All-time lists

Following the launch of the top Test and ODI performances lists, Wisden received many requests asking whether it was possible to create a ranking list of all-time great players by using the same formula and examining the average rating each player received per innings. Including a weighting for players with longer careers, Wisden arrived at the lists below. In Tests, Donald Bradman was the clear leader in the batting category and Muttiah Muralitharan was ranked as the top bowler. In the ODI section, Viv Richards and Wasim Akram are the top-ranked players.

Top 5 Test batsmen

RankBatsmanRating
1Australia Donald Bradman1349.0
2India Sachin Tendulkar1000.5
3West Indies Viv Richards913.9
4West Indies Garfield Sobers912.0
5Australia Allan Border911.2

Top 5 Test bowlers

RankBowlerRating
1Sri Lanka Muttiah Muralitharan1320.4
2New Zealand Richard Hadlee1232.9
3England Sydney Barnes1209.3
4Australia Shane Warne1195.8
5Australia Clarrie Grimmett1184.8

For the full Top 10 list for Test cricket, see All-time W100 Test Top 10s at Cricinfo.com.

Top 5 ODI batsmen

RankBatsmanRating
1West Indies Viv Richards1132.5
2India Sachin Tendulkar1119.3
3Australia Michael Bevan1036.8
4Australia Ricky Ponting1022.1
5West Indies Brian Lara1016.7

Top 5 ODI bowlers

RankBowlerRating
1Pakistan Wasim Akram1223.5
2South Africa Allan Donald1180.1
3Pakistan Waqar Younis1167.1
4Australia Glenn McGrath1165.9
5West Indies Joel Garner1160.7

For the full Top 10 list for ODI cricket, see All-time W100 ODI Top 10s at Cricinfo.com.

Other lists

The same methodology was used to rank each player's overall performance in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. In this list, the top batsman was Sachin Tendulkar and the top bowler was Glenn McGrath.

References

References

  1. "The Selection Criteria (Test)". Rediff.com.
  2. "The Selection Criteria (ODI)". Rediff.com.
  3. (27 July 2001). "India miffed as Wisden snubs Tendulkar". Thatscricket.
  4. (October 2010). "Tendulkar rumpus: our man responds".
  5. (14 August 2001). "Wisden Online or Offline?". [[The Hindu]].
  6. (October 2010). "Butcher storms the top 50". ESPNcricinfo.
  7. (October 2010). "Ponting powers to the top". ESPNcricinfo.
  8. (10 December 2002). "The best of the best". ESPNcricinfo.
  9. (13 December 2002). "Murali 'best bowler ever'". BBC News.
  10. "Tendulkar second-best ever: Wisden".
  11. (16 December 2002). "Akram, Richards top Wisden ODI rankings". [[The Hindu]].
  12. (13 December 2002). "Murali 'best bowler ever'". BBC News.
  13. (October 2010). "WC 2002–03 rankings – batting". ESPNcricinfo.
  14. (October 2010). "WC 2002–03 rankings – bowling". ESPNcricinfo.
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