Best cricketers in the world ever

Let us begin our journey...

1. Sir Donald Bradman

Country: Australia

Years active: 1927-1949

More like this

Test batting Average: 99.94

"The Don" is not only one of the most celebrated and recognised names in cricket, despite retiring from the sport more than seven decades ago remains a household name across the world. His incredible batting average of 99.94 (he was so close to a three figure average!) sets him head and shoulders above all those who went before and everyone who has played competitive cricket since. In an illustrious career that spanned three decades, Bradman took the popularity of international cricket to new highs, drawing huge crowds to watch his almost flawless batting - culminating in leading the so-called "invisibles" Australian team to a whitewash of the English on a tour after the Second World War.

2. Sachin Tendulkar

Country: India

Years active: 1998-2013

Test batting Average: 53.78

Test wickets: 46

The highest scoring batsman in the history of international cricket, Tendulkar captained the Indian national team and remains the only player in the history of the game to score one hundred international centuries and the first cricketer to amass more than 30,000 test runs. To add to that, Tendulkar was also a pretty handy bowler. Decorated with awards both on and off the pitch, this true international superstar of the game has been recipient of Wisden Cricketer of the Year, the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, ESPNCrickinfo Cricketer of the Generation as well as the Padma Bidhushan and the Bharat Ratna, India's second highest and highest civilian awards.

3. Sir Garfield Sobers

Country: West Indies

Years active: 1952-1974

Test batting Average: 57.78

Test Wickets: 235

One of the most celebrated cricketers of a generation, Sobers is recognised as the complete package in cricketing terms - an all rounder to be feared by his opponents whether he was holding the bat or the ball. His aggressive batting style propelled him to fame as a fan favourite who would not only achieve high scores, but in spectacular fashion - indeed in 1968 he became the first cricketer to achieve a "perfect" 36 in an over of first class cricket in England, smashing six consecutive balls of an over for six. Described by many commentators as the best all-rounder ever to have played the game, Sobers stood out for his ability to bowl as well at pace with the new ball as he could spin it later in the game, field with extraordinary athleticism as well as score runs with the bat.

4. Sir Ian Botham

Country: England

Years active: 1973-1993

Test batting Average: 33.54

Test Wickets: 383

Another all rounder in our list, Botham was one of the most recognisable names in cricket in the 1980s - celebrated by the press as a "big hitter" who's powerful shots would send the crowds wild, but indeed, it was probably more for his exceptionally consistent bowling that he might be better remembered by the record book, garnering him a fantastic 383 test wickets. He became England captain in the early 1980s and is often best remembered for the 1981 series against Australia, dubbed by many as "Botham's Ashes" because of his brilliant performance with both bat and ball helping the team come from being one test down after two to win the series, and with it the most coveted prize in cricket.

5. Imran Khan

Imran Khan celebrates 1992 Cricket World Cup Win

Country: Pakistan

Years active: 1971-1992

Test batting Average: 37.69

Test Wickets: 362

There aren't many sportspeople who can claim to have captained their country in sport, and in politics - but Imran Kahn is one of them. Now the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, Kahn is best-known to sports fans for his heroics as one of the most gifted all rounders of his generation. Inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame, Kahn captained Pakistan to their only Cricket World Cup victory as well as producing regular heroics with the bat and ball throughout an illustrious test match career.

6. Shane Warne

Country: Australia

Years active: 1992-2007

Test Wickets: 708

When Shane Warne exploded onto the international cricket scene he took the sport by storm, becoming one of the most feared - and at times almost unplayable - bowlers in the game. His incredible leg spin earned him more than 700 test wickets and popularised across the globe a form of bowling that hadn't perhaps always been seen as glamorous compared to fast paced deliveries. Warne's big personality, on-pitch bravado and incredible skill to match made him a superstar of his era and helped make the Australian national team of the 90s and 00s one of the most unstoppable forces in world cricket in the modern era.

7. Brian Lara

Country: West Indies

Years active: 1990-2007

Test batting Average: 52.88

Without a doubt, Lara is one of the most gifted batsmen ever to have stepped up to the crease in world cricket. He holds the record for the highest ever score in first class cricket in England, with an incredible 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994, and ten years later he set the record for the highest ever individual test score with 400 not out against England. Lara also hold the record of the highest score in one over by a batsman in a test match when he scored 28 runs in six balls against South Africa's Robin Peterson in 2003.

8. Sir Viv Richards

Country: West Indies

Years active: 1974-1991

Test batting Average: 50.23

Test Wickets: 32

Another great batsman from the West Indies, Viv Richards was the batting superstar to dominate the game before Lara. His run-scoring helped lead the West Indies to win both the first and second Cricket World Cup and set him up as the future captain of his team. Noted for his brilliant and often spectacular performances with the bat in both one day cricket and test cricket, Richards was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame in 2009.

9. Wasim Akram

Pakistan`s bowler Wasim Akram celebrates the runou

Country: Pakistan

Years active: 1984-2003

Test Wickets: 414

One of the greatest bowlers and prolific wickets takers of all time, Akram is famed as one of the earliest exponents of reverse swing, a style of fast bowling that regularly devastated opposition batting orders with ruthless effect. The highest wicket-taker in tests in Pakistani cricket history with 414, Akram was also the first cricketer to reach 500 one day international wickets during his performance in the 2003 Cricket World Cup.

10. Muttiah Muralitharan

Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralithara

Country: Sri Lanka

Years active: 1992-2011

Test Wickets: 800

Muralitharan's prolific wicket-taking earns him a place in the top ten, and as one of the best-recognised names in bowling of the modern era. His unusual style of delivery which saw him bowl wrist-spinning off-spin, although devastatingly effective against opponent batsmen, also attracted controversy during his career. Various officials and members of the cricket community questioned the validity of his bowling action, although after extensive biomechanical analysis under simulated playing conditions, the ICC agreed that it was a legal way of bowling within the game.