Your All-time Top 5's

[Matt79]

Top 5 Opening Batsman

1. Sir Jack Hobbs
2. Sir Len Hutton
3. Sunil Gavaskar
4. Herbert Sutcliffe
5. Anyone of a half a dozen. Will say Simpson for the sake of argument.

Top 5 Middle-Order Batsman*

1. Sir Donald Bradman
2. Wally Hammond
3. Sir Vivian Richards
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. George Headley

* Assuming that, as I've included Sobers below in the allrounders category he doesn't get a spot here in the middle order players. If he was included here, slot him in at 4 after Viv, with Headley sliding out.

Top 5 Allrounders

1. Garry Sobers
2. Imran Khan
3. Keith Miller
4. Ian Botham
5. Aubrey Faulkner

Top 5 Wicketkeeper-Batsman

1. Adam Gilchrist
2. Andy Flower
3. Les Ames
4. Allan Knott
5. Kumar Sangakkara

Top 5 Spin Bowlers

1. Shane Warne
2. Muttiah Muralitharan
3. Tiger O'Reilly
4. Clarrie Grimmett
5. Jim Laker

Top 5 Pace Bowlers

1. Malcolm Marshall
2. Dennis Lillee
3. Curtley Ambrose
4. Sir Richard Hadlee
5. Wasim Akram

Top 5 Cricketers
1. Sir Donald Bradman
2. Sir Garry Sobers
3. Imram Khan
4. Shane Warne
5. WG Grace

[The Sean]

Actually I just went through the batting records during his career, and removing Sri Lanka so Richards can be on equal footing, there are only 3 other comparable batsman: Border (51.77), Miandad (55.28) and Chappell (54.38). Both Javad and Allen were pretty poor against the best team of their time, West Indies (in fact, Javad isn't too hot against Sri Lanka either and Border with S.Africa) so that leaves Chappell. Who, actually, probably does have a very legimitate claim to being the 2nd best batsman after Bradman. The rest either hadn't batted enough in that period to merit comparison and others (like Gavaskar) averaged below him.

Interesting that those players' averages all go up when you exclude the minnow. Javed particularly so.

[Ikki]

Interesting that those players' averages all go up when you exclude the minnow. Javed particularly so.

Javed's does by a bit. He wasn't terrible against them just not near his career average. Gavaskar and Border go down, for example. These are not career averages btw, but their averages when Richards was playing.

Sri Lanka have by far the worst bowling averages in that period:

[The Sean]

Top 5 Opening Batsmen

1. Jack Hobbs
2. WG Grace
3. Len Hutton
4. Sunil Gavaskar
5. Victor Trumper
(Sorry Herbert…)

Top 5 Middle-Order Batsmen

1. Don Bradman
2. Garry Sobers
3. Sachin Tendulkar
4. Vivian Richards
5. Walter Hammond
(Sorry Brian…)

Top 5 All-Rounders

1. Garry Sobers
2. Imran Khan
3. Keith Miller
4. Ian Botham
5. Kapil Dev

Top 5 Most Valuable Wicket-Keepers

1. Adam Gilchrist
2. Alan Knott
3. Jack Blackham
4. Les Ames
5. Ian Healy

Top 5 Pace Bowlers

1. Malcolm Marshall
2. Sydney Barnes
3. Dennis Lillee
4. Glenn McGrath
5. Imran Khan
(About 10 others you could throw a blanket over)

Top 5 Spinners

1. Shane Warne
2. Muttiah Muralitharan
3. Bill O’Reilly
4. Jim Laker
5. Clarrie Grimmett

Top 5 Cricketers of All Time

1. Don Bradman
2. Garry Sobers
3. WG Grace
4. Imran Khan
5. Shane Warne

[The Sean]

Javed's does by a bit. He wasn't terrible against them just not near his career average. Gavaskar and Border go down, for example. These are not career averages btw, but their averages when Richards was playing.

Oh right, thought you meant career averages - cool mate.

[pasag]

Top 5 Opening Batsmen

1. Jack Hobbs
2. WG Grace
3. Len Hutton
4. Sunil Gavaskar
5. Victor Trumper
(Sorry Herbert…)

Top 5 Middle-Order Batsmen

1. Don Bradman
2. Garry Sobers
3. Sachin Tendulkar
4. Vivian Richards
5. Walter Hammond
(Sorry Brian…)

Top 5 All-Rounders

1. Garry Sobers
2. Imran Khan
3. Keith Miller
4. Ian Botham
5. Kapil Dev

Top 5 Most Valuable Wicket-Keepers

1. Adam Gilchrist
2. Alan Knott
3. Jack Blackham
4. Les Ames
5. Ian Healy

Top 5 Pace Bowlers

1. Malcolm Marshall
2. Sydney Barnes
3. Dennis Lillee
4. Glenn McGrath
5. Imran Khan
(About 10 others you could throw a blanket over)

Top 5 Spinners

1. Shane Warne
2. Muttiah Muralitharan
3. Bill O’Reilly
4. Jim Laker
5. Clarrie Grimmett

Top 5 Cricketers of All Time

1. Don Bradman
2. Garry Sobers
3. WG Grace
4. Imran Khan
5. Shane Warne

Superb.

[weldone]

Top 5 Opening Batsmen:

1. Jack Hobbs
2. Leonard Hutton
3. Sunil Gavaskar
4. Herbert Sutcliffe
5. Barry Richards

Top 5 Middle Order Batsmen:

1. Donald Bradman
2. Garfield Sobers
3. Wally Hammond
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. George Headley

Top 5 All-rounders:

1. Garfield Sobers
2. Keith Miller
3. Imran Khan
4. Ian Botham
5. Jacques Kallis/ Clive Rice/ Kapil Dev/ Mike Procter/ Aubrey Faulkner/ WG Grace/ Wilfred Rhodes

Top 5 Pace Bowlers:

1. Richard Hadlee
2. Malcolm Marshall
3. Glenn McGrath
4. Wasim Akram
5. Imran Khan

Top 5 Spin Bowlers:

1. Muttiah Muralitharan
2. Bill O'Reilly
3. Shane Warne
4. Clarrie Grimmett
5. Jim Laker

Note: Couldn't find a place for Sydney Barnes among top 5 pace or spin bowlers because noone knows to which category he belonged. But almost certainly he can get into either.

[0RI0N]

Openers

Hobbs
Sutcliffe
Hayden
Gavaskar
Hutton

Middle Order

Hammond
Ponting
Lara
Weekes
Chappell

Wicketkeepers

Gilchrist
Knott
Marsh
Flower
Sangakarra

Allrounders

Kallis
Miller
Imran
Sobers
Botham

Fast bowlers

Ambrose
Hadlee
Marshall
McGrath
Lillee

Spin bowlers

Kumble
Tiger Bill
Grimmett
Murali
Warne

* DG Bradman excluded.
He ranks much higher than these players.

[Slifer]

Openers

Hobbs
Hutton
Gavaskar
Sutcliffe
G Boycott

Middle Order

The Don
IVAR
G Chappell
G Sobers
SRT

Wicketkeeper-BAtsmen

Gilchrist
Flower
Sangakarra
Les Ames
A Stewart

Allrounders

Sobers
Imran
Miller
Kallis
Botham

Fast bowlers

Marshall
Mcgrath
Imran
Hadlee
Lillee

Spin bowlers

Murali
Warne
O'reilly
Grimmett
Laker

Cricketers

Don
Sobers
Grace
Barnes
Imran

[archie mac]

Top 5 Opening Batsman

1. WG Grace
2. Jack Hobbs
3. Archie MacLaren
4. RE Foster
5. Victor Trumer

Top 5 Middle Order

1. Ranji
2. Clem Hill
3. William Murdoch
4. CB Fry
5. George Gunn

Top 5 Allrounders

1. Aubrey Faulkner
2. Monty Noble
3. George Giffen
4. FS Jackson
5. Frank Foster

Top 5 Wicketkeeper-Batsman

1. Jack Blackham
2. Dick Lilley
3. Jim Kelly
4. Herbie Strudwick
5. Hanson Carter

Top 5 Spin Bowlers

1. Hugh Trumble
2. Wilfred Rhodes
3. Edmund Peate
4. Johhny Briggs
5. Bobby Peel

Top 5 Pace Bowlers

1. SF Barnes
2. George Lohmann
3. Tom Richardson
4. Ernie Jones
5. Tom Lockwood

Top 5 Cricketers
1. WG Grace
2. SF Barnes
3. Victor Trumper
4. Jack Blackham
5. Ranji

I am sure I have missed someone

[Jamee999]

I am sure I have missed someone

[Richard]

Sean, you really should learn the difference between wicketkeepers and wicketkeeper-batsmen.

Anyway, without putting a particularly massive amount of thought into this... since 1900 only (none of this all-time lark for me), and the longer form of the game only considered (no limited-overs stuff)...

Top 5 Opening Batsman

1. Jack Hobbs
2. Herbert Sutcliffe
3. Vijay Merchant
4. Leonard Hutton
5. Barry Richards

Top 5 Middle-Order Batsman

1. Donald Bradman
2. George Headley
3. Walter Hammond
4. Garfield Sobers
5. Sachin Tendulkar

Top 5 Allrounders

1. Garfield Sobers
2. Keith Miller
3. Imran Khan
4. Jacques Kallis
5. Monty Noble

Top 5 Wicketkeeper-Batsman

1. Adam Gilchrist
2. Les Ames
3. Alec Stewart
4. Jeffrey Dujon
5. Farokh Engineer
NOTE: Andy Flower was in my view beyond doubt the best batsman of those who kept wicket regularly in a Test career. However, he wasn't all that much of a wicketkeeper. Sangakkara also excluded because he's changed between batsman and batsman-wicketkeeper so many times in his career. SO...
Top 4 Wicketkeepers

1. Bob Taylor
2. Don Tallon
3. Alan Knott
4. AFA "Dick" Lilley

Top 5 Wristspin Bowlers

1. Sydney Barnes
2. = Muttiah Muralitharan
2. = Shane Warne
4. Bill O'Reilly
5. Clarrie Grimmett

Top 5 Fingerspin Bowlers

1. Wilfred Rhodes
2. Hedley Verity
3. Jim Laker
4. Derek Underwood
5. Hugh Tayfield

Top 5 Seam Bowlers

1. Malcolm Marshall
2. Richard Hadlee
3. Allan Donald
4. Imran Khan
5. Ray Lindwall

Top 5 Cricketers

1. Garfield Sobers
2. Donald Bradman
3. Jack Hobbs
4. = Richard Hadlee
4. = Muttiah Muralitharan

[Lillian Thomson]

Top 5 Opening Batsman

1. Barry Richards
2. Sunil Gavaskar
3. Jack Hobbs
4. Herbert Sutcliffe
5. Len Hutton

Top 5 Middle-Order Batsman

1. Don Bradman
2. Vivian Richards
3. Sachin Tendulkar
4. Brian Lara
5. Wally Hammond

Top 5 Allrounders

1. Garry Sobers
2. Imran Khan
3. Keith Miller
4. Ian Botham
5. Wilfred Rhodes

Top 5 Batsman-Wicketkeeper (WicketKeepers)

1. Adam Gilchrist (Alan Knott)
2. Alan Knott (Bob Taylor)
3. Les Ames (Wally Grout)
4. Jeff Dujon (Don Tallon)
5. Mark Boucher (Wasim Bari)

Top 5 Spin Bowlers

1. Shane Warne
2. Muttiah Muralitharan
3. Bill O'Reilly
4. Hedley Verity
5. Derek Underwood

Top 5 Pace Bowlers

1. Dennis Lillee
2. Fred Trueman
3. Malcolm Marshall
4. Richard Hadlee
5. Michael Holding

Top 5 Cricketers

1. Donald Bradman
2. Garfield Sobers
3. WG Grace
4. Jack Hobbs
5. Vivian Richards

[zaremba]

I'm having a quiet chuckle that anyone should place Ian Healy in their Top 5 wicketkeepers of all time.

Top 5 Australian keepers since WW2, maybe. But even then, only just.

[zaremba]

Top 5 Middle Order

1. Ranji
2. Clem Hill
3. William Murdoch
4. CB Fry
5. George Gunn

A wonderful set of selections, Archie. I wonder whether half the posters here know who half the players you've chosen are.

Anyhow I'm predictably gratified to see that a certain cricketing backwater on the English South Coast can lay some sort of claim to no fewer than 3 of these players (and, for good measure, a 4th died there).