Getting ranked in the ICC batting rankings isn’t everyone’s cup of tea as it needs a lot of patience, resilience, and massive strength of character that paves the way for a cricketing great to reach that glittering billboard. Reaching the rankings is one thing while maintaining it and climbing your way to the top is another.
The characteristic that sets aside the extraordinary from a slew of modest names is one’s relentless quest for brilliance, persevering beyond one’s human ability and going to every single limit to kiss greatness.
We will look at ten cricketers who gathered the highest rating in the history of cricket to be ranked in all-time batting rankings. More importantly, they are also legends of the game who showed exemplary resolve to remain at the top.
Sir Vivian Richards – 935 points
Imagine a batsman taking on monstrous fast bowlers, hurling bullets at you from the clouds, and all of it without a helmet. Too hard to conceive? Actually, this was a reality back in the ’80s and the batsman that I am referring to is none other than the finest West Indian batsman to walk the earth, Sir Vivian Richards.
Mercilessly killing the bowlers with some elegant and menacing swing of the bat, Richards could dispatch the bowlers to the stands without breaking a sweat.
He kissed the pinnacle of his batting prowess in 1985, where he garnered the rating of 935 points which is by far the highest in ODI cricket. He stayed at the zenith for four consecutive years between 1984 and 1987.
Zaheer Abbas – 931 points
Dotingly known as the Run Machine, Zaheer Abbas was one of the finest Pakistani batsmen to have taken the field. Also referred to as the Asian Bradman at times, Abbas became the first batsman to chronicle three consecutive ODI centuries. Being at the height of his batting heroics, he claimed the top spot with 931 points which is the highest by any Pakistani cricketer.
Greg Chappell – 921 points
One of the most controversial figures in India for his brief coaching stint that left the team disconcerted at the end of his helm and also one of the most controversial cricketers of the world for asking his brother to bowl an underarm delivery against New Zealand copped the third place in this list.
Chappell was a rare Australian talent that owned the likes of intimidating West Indian fast bowlers in the Kerry Packer series. His elegance and expressive stroke play made him an absolute monster with the bat. He managed to claim 921 points that saw him ruling the roost with unparalleled swagger.
David Gower – 919 points
Known as the stylist southpaw of his time, David Gower could kill the bowlers on the offside. With an incredible sense of timing that saw the English batsman firing on all cylinders, he redefined the English batting.
The batsman also led the English side and disposed of his duties with a distinction that also saw him crafting several match-winning knocks.
He managed to claim the ace with 919, which is by far the highest that any Englishman could chronicle.
Dean Jones – 918 points
The second Australian in the list, Dean Jones was one of the fastest cricketers on his feet and that also propelled him to the pedestal of one of the best batsmen between the late ’80s to the early ’90s.
Inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame in 2019, Jones also grabbed the fifth spot in the list with 918 points, a perfect reference for some exemplary batting.
Virat Kohli – 911 points
The only Indian cricketer to feature in this list is King Kohli as he played out a dream season in 2018, rattling a number of records which saw him reach his career-best figures of 911 points when he played out a phenomenal series in England.
The Indian skipper is still to play at least another five years in cricket which gives him the best chance to cross the previous records set by the others in the sport, however, he will need to pull off inhuman efforts for the same.
Javed Miandad – 910 points
The Pakistani big-hitter is the next in the list as he went above and beyond his capabilities to stun the bowlers with some awe-inspiring knocks for Pakistan. Indians still remember him for a last-ball six that he slammed against Chetan Sharma leaving the Indian fans stunned.
His career-best rating in batting rankings has so far been 910 points that saw some monumental knocks from the former Pakistan captain who defined unorthodox batting in cricketing history.
Brian Lara – 908 points
Lara has been one of the most shining beacons of batting in international cricket that saw the southpaw hammering left and right whenever he got going. He was such a batsman that saw others being scared to sledge the ever-smiling gentleman
His career-best rating was of 908 points which were inclusive of his phenomenal knocks in Test Cricket that would leave a very bitter taste in the bowlers’ mouth who ever faced the Caribbean southpaw at his best.
Abraham Benjamin De Villiers – 902 points
De Villiers played for a very limited timeframe and yet in those handful years, he left a legacy so vast that it will take a good deal of years for any other player to overhaul them, and more importantly it will need a lot more than mere batting skills.
The South African linchpin rattled countless records in his glittering span in the 22 yards out of which racking up 902 points when he aced the table was a totemic figure of his batting genius.
Hashim Amla – 901 points
The second South African to make the cut for this prestigious list is the bearded maestro, Hashim Amla. A man who could blend perfectly into any format of the sport with a wide variety of cricketing skills, Amla was one of the finest Proteas cricketers that the world has ever seen.
In his quest for glory, the right-handed virtuoso found himself in a rock-solid position that once saw him claiming the ace as Amla scored 901 points which were the highest rating that he ever reached.
