[marc71178]

For middle order I have only counted batsmen between 3 and 6, as other players are covered by other categories later on. From best to worst I rank them as follows:

honestbharani - This line-up just oozes class for me, without an easily identifiable weak link, and topped off with one of the best finishers in history in Hussey.

G.I.Joe - In Viv Richards, we see another of the greatest batsmen in ODI's - personally I rate him higher than anyone else. Waugh was primarily an opener, so that does slightly detract and possibly costs top spot, as Jones and Dravid making up a powerful contingent capable of dealing with almost any conditions.

Blakus - As a player of yesteryear, Zaheer Abbas often slips under the radar when we think of ODI batsmen, but his talent in this group is ideally complemented by the dependable (if a little selfish) Kallis, the incredibly talented and flexible Dhoni and the mercurial Hooper. IMO, the placing of Hooper so low does deduct a bit from the unit, leaving him potentially batting out of position.

Pskov - A big West Indian flavour here sees some fine players topped off by a brutal Andrew Symonds ready to flog the demoralised bowlers. The weakest link is Kanhai, but this is mainly due him being relatively unproven in ODIs.

weldone - Although collectively some good players, I feel a couple of these are out of position to perform to their best and this costs in my final analysis. Obviously Bevan is the star man, but being capable of such wonderful batting at 6, it seems odd to me to put Jayawardene down there and as it's my ranking, that's why they're only 5th.

Somerset - The 2 subcontinental batsmen are amongst the most elegant you can expect to see, and with Andy Flower also in the mix, I only really mark them down because the once-in-a-generation player Sobers was a generation too late for ODIs.

Cevno - This group lacks a natural number 3 for my liking, with Clarke, Pietersen and Chappell all better suited to 4 or 5. Adding in Amarnath doesn't help lift them much higher in my eyes.

Himannv - I found it a tough ask to split this one from Cevno, and it's just the fact that none of these players are really top drawer that tips the balance, even though I feel Rhodes' fielding excellence did mean his batting got somewhat overlooked andthus under-rated.

Pothas - With Morgan still unproven and Tikolo IMO over-rated because of the nation he played for, I had to put these 4 down the list.

Noble One - With Gibbs and Fleming more suited to opening and Imran and Klusener definitely too high up the order for my liking, I had to put these guy's bottom of the pile I'm afraid.