5 great batsmen and their favourite overseas Test venues

The ultimate test for any batsman in world cricket is how well he performs in alien conditions. It is always considered an easier task to score runs at home as one is familiar with the way the pitches will behave and also quite acclimatized with the weather. However, foreign tours are a completely different proposition and decide how good a player really is.

Some of the best batsmen of all time have achieved their greatness primarily due to their ability to produce the goods both at home and away. Most of them have also had their own favourite grounds in other countries where they have excelled with the bat.

Here are 5 great batsmen from the past couple of decades and their preferred overseas Test venues:

5. Jacques Kallis – The Oval

Legendary South African batsman Jacques Kallis has enjoyed one of the most successful Test careers in the history of the game and is right there with the best. In a career which saw him play 166 Test matches, Kallis scored more than 13,000 runs which included an incredible 45 centuries.

Although the Proteas great did not have any specific happy hunting ground overseas, he did manage to perform quite well at the Oval in London. Kallis played 3 matches at the venue and scored 294 runs from 5 innings at an average of 73.50.

In his final appearance at the Oval, Jacques Kallis hit an unbeaten 182 in an innings victory for South Africa over hosts England.

4. Brian Lara – Adelaide

Brian Lara had a magnificent record at Adelaide

Brian Lara is quite easily among the best batsmen ever to have set foot on a cricket field. The iconic West Indian southpaw scored close to 12,000 runs in a glittering career for his country and still holds the record for the highest individual score of 400 not out in a Test innings.

Lara enjoyed a great love affair with Australia and therefore, it is hardly a surprise that his favourite overseas venue is located in the country – the Adelaide Oval. He has a tally of 610 runs in 8 innings at a staggering average of 76.25 with 2 centuries and 2 fifties.

His top score at the ground is a flamboyant 226 that he got in a match that West Indies eventually lost.

3. Ricky Ponting – Headingley

Headingley was a happy hunting ground for Ponting

Ricky Ponting is right there with the best in world cricket, both in terms of his captaincy as well as his batting. Punter, as Ponting is fondly known, played 168 Tests in which he managed to score 13,378 runs while averaging just a little under 52.

The great Aussie batsman performed exceptionally well in foreign conditions, too. Among the different overseas venues that he has played in, he seemed to enjoy the Headingley Stadium in Leeds the most as he scored 493 runs at an average in excess of 80.

Ponting scored a century in his very first innings at the ground in 1997 and followed it up with another one when he returned to Headingley in 2001.

2. Rahul Dravid – The Oval

Dravid cracked a double century at the Oval

During his memorable career, Rahul Dravid established himself one of the most iconic figures in the history of Indian cricket. Dravid amassed more than 13,000 runs in the 164 Tests that he played and is the second highest Indian run-scorer of all time.

The legendary batsman boasts of a phenomenal record in overseas conditions, especially in England. Among the several English grounds where Dravid displayed his brilliance, the Oval is right on top as he scored 443 runs at the venue at a tremendous average of 110.75.

In his very first innings at the ground, Rahul Dravid hit an epic 217 in a drawn Test match against hosts England. Dravid also scored an unbeaten century in his last Test at the Oval.

1. Sachin Tendulkar – Sydney

Sachin’s record at the SCG is quite phenomenal

Arguably the greatest batsman of all time, Sachin Tendulkar, has enjoyed the status of a cricketing god not only in India but all over the world. The master batsman holds numerous batting records in Test cricket including the most career runs and the most centuries.

One of the things that made Sachin reach the pinnacle of success was his ability to play well in foreign conditions. He particularly thrived while playing in Australia and enjoyed unprecedented success in the country, especially at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Sachin Tendulkar played 9 innings at the SCG, scoring 785 runs at a mind-boggling average of 157 and a high score of 241 not out. Tendulkar ended his love affair with the ground in style, too, as he scored 80 in his final innings there.