11 Best Cricket Players of All Time, Ranked

When it came to selecting the 11 best cricket players ever, I had to compare greats from the first half of the 20th century with modern icons. Equipment has changed considerably over that time, and new formats have been introduced, giving players greater opportunities to showcase their skills.

The cricketing schedule has also changed with the addition of World Cups and franchise white-ball competitions. 

Narrowing the list down to 11 was a massive challenge. There are at least 30 players with a strong case to make it onto this list. 

11 Best Cricket Players of All Time, Ranked

Cricket’s All-Time Greatest Players

1. Garfield Sobers

No one can compare to Garfield Sobers. He averaged just shy of 58 with the bat in test matches, while taking 235 wickets. In the field, he was dynamic whether stationed close to the wicket in a catching position or roaming the outfield. 

With the ball, Sobers could switch between leg spin, off spin, and fast-medium. As a batter, he was inherently aggressive, while possessing an excellent technique to thrive on all surfaces.

2. Donald Bradman

Donald Bradman’s test average of 99.94 is one of sport’s most unbreakable records. Bradman was an almost impossible player to bowl to, owing to a supreme eye and excellent judgement of line and length.

England devised the Bodyline theory to try and unsettle Bradman, such was his impact on the Ashes throughout his storied career. A few years later, Bradman led the Australians on an unbeaten tour of England. 

3. Jacques Kallis

True all-rounders are invaluable. Sobers and Jacques Kallis are the only players in test history with a career batting average 20 runs higher than their bowling average. Kallis is the only cricketer to have 10,000 runs and 250 wickets in tests and one-day internationals. 

While he wasn’t the most flamboyant, Kallis was an expert technician with the bat, a skilful bowler, and a reliable slip fielder. Maybe third is a bit generous, but that speaks to my admiration for all-rounders who contribute so much with the bat and ball. 

4. Shane Warne

Shane Warne took 1,001 wickets in international cricket. Alongside his unparalleled leg-spin bowling, Warne was also a useful lower-order batter and trustworthy slip fielder.

The only minor criticism of Warne was his record in India, where he averaged over 40 with the ball. He tormented batters everywhere else, however, with his sharp cricket brain and unrelenting competitiveness matching his control and turn. 

5. Muttiah Muralitharan

Muttiah Muralitharan has over 300 more international wickets than anyone else. I give Warne the narrow advantage in these rankings, though, as Muralitharan struggled in Australia and India and didn’t offer anything as a batter or fielder. 

As a bowler, Murali was truly unique. His double-jointed wrist and elbow enabled him to legally bowl a big-turning doosra, which made him a nightmare to face, along with the more orthodox off-break and top spinner. 

6. Wally Hammond

Only three players who have played 50 or more tests have averaged more than Wally Hammond. Also an elite slip fielder, Hammond would have been a legitimate all-rounder if he were more keen on bowling.

Majestic playing through the off side, Hammond had a statuesque and elegant technique. He was particularly effective when conditions favoured the bowling team.

7. Malcolm Marshall

Of bowlers to have taken 200 test wickets, Jasprit Bumrah is the only man with a better average than Malcolm Marshall. In an era of phenomenal West Indian fast bowlers, Marshall was the best of the bunch. 

Accomplished swinging the ball both ways and capable of bowling off and leg cutters, Marshall also bowled toe-crushing yorkers. He was a dangerous batter in the lower order with seven first-class hundreds. 

8. AB de Villiers

Earning the “Mr. 360” nickname, AB de Villiers is most commonly remembered for his white-ball heroics. De Villiers was also a phenomenal test player, though, averaging over 50 with the bat in the longest format. 

Named in the Test Team of the Year on five occasions and included in the ICC’s Team of Decade for ODIs and T20Is in the 2010s, de Villiers has a legacy very few can match. 

9. Viv Richards

No batter has struck fear into opposing bowlers quite like Viv Richards. A gentle giant away from the field, Richards was a domineering figure at the crease, capable of smashing the ball to every corner of the ground. 

Capable of dismantling even the world’s best bowling attacks, Richards was at the core of a dominant West Indies team throughout the 1970s and 1980s. 

10. James Anderson

Warne and Muralitharan are the only bowlers with more test wickets than James Anderson. The Lancashire and England quick bowler has 100 more scalps than any other fast bowler in test cricket, owing to remarkable longevity.

Anderson was a tearaway quick when he made his England debut but evolved into perhaps the most skillful swing bowler in cricket history.  

11. Sachin Tendulkar

A run machine from a young age, Sachin Tendulkar was consistently a good option to be India’s top run scorer in the cricket betting markets at online sportsbooks.

Holding the record for the most runs in tests and the most runs in ODIs, I may have been a bit harsh putting Tendulkar outside the top 10. Tendulkar’s statistics are spectacular, but I don’t feel he impacted matches as much as the other batters ahead of him on this list.