10 batsmen I would pick to bat for my life

If your life were at stake, which batsmen would you pick? The ones who are dogged, the immovable objects to the unstoppable bowling forces? Would you pick the daring and dashing intimidators who come at bowlers so hard that their attacks get mellowed, distracted and eventually defeated? What criteria could you possibly use to pick batsmen who put their hand up when the pressure is at its maximum, batsmen who funnily lose focus when the going gets easy and runs are there for the taking?Would you take batsmen who are nightmares for bowlers when it comes to getting them out or batsmen who score prolifically, batsmen who have played out thousands of balls without flinching with impeccable technique or batsmen whose grit and nerves of steel are stuff of legend?A combination of several of the factors mentioned above and some stats, and these are the 10 I would pick to bat for my life (in no specific order).NOTE: This is a list of batsmen I have seen enough of to judge as opposed to someone like Don Bradman, G Pollock, Geoffrey Boycott, H Sutcliffe or, even, G Headley and later, who are 10 years ahead of one man on this list, SM Gavaskar.

#10 Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq is a late bloomer, but he has made the most out of it, still leading his country at 40, still contributing. He will never be counted amongst Pakistan’s greatest batsmen, neither will there be accolades showered for his batting exploits. Averaging nearly 47 in Tests in 48 matches, the right-hander has a shade over 3000 runs in Test cricket. In fact, many would say, Hashim Amla or, even, AB de Villiers would make for a better fit instead of Misbah, if a lower Test run tally is not a problem in itself.

But anyone who has followed Pakistan cricket closely in the last 5 years, where every match is virtually an away match for them, Misbah has been the rock of Gibraltar in an otherwise precipitous, volatile batting line-up that implodes more often than not. As for as Pakistan batting in the last half-a-decade is concerned, Misbah and hope stay together on the crease.

#9 Sunil Gavaskar

First man to breach the 10000-run mark and a great conqueror of probably the best and fiercest bowling attack of all time, Sunil Gavaskar is considered by some old-world pundits as the greatest batsman India has ever produced, even better than Tendulkar. He was resolute and disciplined, known for such rare feats as carrying his bat and scoring centuries in either innings of Tests as an opener.

#8 Allan Border

Once the record holder for most Test runs, Allan Border was a street-fighter of sorts on the 22-yard patch. Nearly 27000 balls faced and 36000 minutes batted, he paved the way for the era of Australian invincibility, making winning the Ashes a habit and turning the tables around. Probably nothing marks his greatness more than the fact that the best player of the year of cricket’s giant nations is handed the Allan Border Medal.

#7 Kumar Sangakkara

He averages close to 59 in Test cricket, virtually untouchable in contemporary terms, in spite of coming at No.3 for most of his career. He figures in most batting records: runs, balls faced, centuries, etc. He did all that while keeping wickets, a testimony to his concentration and stamina. On some of the highway pitches in Sri Lanka, Sangakkara has played matches where he was on the ground as a keeper or a batsman for more than 90% of the match-time. But probably his biggest stat that leaves every other contemporary batsman behind with the exception of Brian Lara is the number of double centuries he has stacked up – 10, only second to the great Bradman, 3 of which were away from home.

#6 Sachin Tendulkar

Technically the most correct batsman in contemporary cricket, he is just as good on the front foot as on the back foot, just as good on the onside as on the offside, and just as good on fast pitches as on slow turning tracks, Tendulkar takes his spot because if anyone can resist high quality bowling of the type Dale Steyn dished out at him in Cape Town (2010/11 season), it is him. His numbers are the worst kept secret in the world, anyway.

#5 Michael Atherton

In 115 Tests, Atherton faced 20709 balls, an extrapolation of which would put him in the top 3 of all time had he played at least 150 Tests like a Kallis or a Dravid. Dogged centuries in cold, blustery conditions apart, Atherton’s rivalries with greats like Glenn McGrath are well documented, too. He is the opening batsman you will trust on an overcast day with a green top. Atherton was never known for flashy strokes. In fact, his batting was so sedate that he could put the fiercest of bowlers to sleep and therein lay his greatness. Yet, for all his dogged resistance, he averaged a meagre 37.69 in Tests, an anomaly in Test cricket.

#4 Steve Waugh

Steve Waugh is a cricketing enigma. Probably the greatest Test captain of all time, Steve averaged 51 in Tests scoring nearly 11000 runs. 46 not-outs, 32 centuries and 22461 balls apart, what makes him special is the fact that he almost always stood up when the chips were down. No man ever paid a greater price on his wicket than Steve did; not nearly as talented as his brother Mark Waugh, but he is an over-achiever of the Rahul Dravid mould, who made courage and grit fashionably cool on a cricket ground.

#3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul

It is one thing to be resolute when you have a strong team. It is totally another to keep standing and standing as you witness the desolation and devastation at the other end, fairly regularly. As a part of a West Indian era that went on a perpetual decline, Chanderpaul’s value to his team is perhaps more so than it could have been to stronger batting countries. The record holder for most not-outs (48) including 18 away from home, where he has scored at least 25 runs, the man is cricket’s immovable object, not glamorous, not flashy and not rewarded nearly enough. 11500 runs and 26000 balls faced in just 156 Tests, a number reduced greatly because he lacked enough support from the other end on most occasions, Chanderpaul symbolises grit.

#2 Jacques Kallis

Caption

In contemporary cricket, only Kumar Sangakkara has a better average than Jacques Kallis; it can be safely assumed that Kallis would have played on more tracks with spice than the Lankan, who will figure on this list, as well. Apart from an average of 55.37, which is one of the hallmarks of great batsmen in this age, Kallis has 40 not-outs, third-highest on the list behind Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Steve Waugh. Kallis is also one of cricket’s greatest No.3 batsmen.

#1 Rahul Dravid

He is neither the greatest Test batsman ever nor the game’s most prolific scorer. But Dravid holds the record for the most balls faced – 31258, about 1500 more than Sachin Tendulkar who has played 36 more Tests and about 2300 balls more than Jacques Kallis, third on the list. Dravid is also second on the list of away centuries, 21 after Sachin’s 29, generally considered a test of a batsman’s true temperament. He also has a lesser known stat ratifying his greatness. In 4th innings not-outs, probably the toughest to achieve, he is only second to Desmond Haynes with 20. As usual, Tendulkar and Kallis are right at his tail with with 16 and 15 respectively.