5 players with best 50 to 100 conversion rate in ODI Cricket

One important aspect of batsmanship is building on after getting a good start. Once a batsman is set, he needs to make sure that he gets a big score in order to help his team set up a good total or chase down a target.

In ODI cricket as well, a lot of top-order batsmen have been very successful in converting their starts into some big hundreds. Hence, we look at 5 players with the best 50 to 100 conversion rate in ODI cricket.

Note – Batsmen with a minimum of 2000 ODI runs have been considered.

(Stats are accurate as of 9th February 2018)

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#5 William Porterfield – 41.67%

William Porterfield is one of the best cricketers to have played for Ireland

William Porterfield is Ireland’s most successful captain. The way he’s led his country over the last decade (made his captaincy debut in 2008) has been superb.

However, not a lot of people know about his batting prowess. He is Ireland’s leading run-getter in both ODIs and T20Is and has amassed 3445 runs in 113 ODI games at an average of 31.90.

Porterfield made his debut in 2006 and in his 4th game, he got his maiden ODI ton (112 not out) against Bermuda in 2007. He backed that score up with another century against Kenya in the next game (104 not out).

After a good year in 2007, the Irishman went through a lean 2008 but 2009 was his best year. He smashed two hundreds and scored 414 runs in 8 games and was awarded as the best Associate Player of the Year. Since that year, he has had some ups and downs but he continued to fight through and found ways to score consistently.

Porterfield has 24 scores of 50+ out of which 10 are centuries. His conversion rate of 41.67% puts him at #5 on this list of players best conversion rates in ODI cricket.

#4 Virat Kohli – 43.04%

Virat Kohli is only second to Sachin Tendulkar on the list of most ODI hundreds

Every time Virat Kohli walks out to bat in any format, there’s always a sense of excitement, especially in limited-overs cricket. He’s completely redefining the art of batsmanship in the shorter formats of the game. Kohli is the only player in the history of the game to have an average of over 50 in all three formats.

His numbers in ODI cricket are simply outstanding. In 205 games (197 innings), the current Indian skipper has scored 9348 runs at a stunning average of 57.35. He is currently second on the list of most ODI hundreds with 34 tons to his name.

Such has been Kohli’s consistency that he has never averaged below 30 in ODIs in any year in international cricket. In fact, his lowest (31.80) came in his debut year. Thus, his appetite and hunger for runs (and success) is second to none. Once he is set, he more often than not makes sure that he converts it into a big score. And while chasing, he is simply brilliant.

Kohli has scored 34 hundreds and 45 fifties (which consist of 6 scores in the 90s). Hence, his conversion rate of 43.04 is among the very best.

#3 Hashim Amla – 43.33%

Hashim Amla scores a lot of runs in limited-overs and people hardly notice him

Hashim Amla is one of South Africa’s most important cricketers. He is one of the most elegant batsmen at the moment in world cricket.

Amla generally gives you the impression that he is a classical player who is more suited to Test cricket. But his record in the shorter formats proves that wrong.

In ODI cricket, the 34-year old right-hander has played 161 games and scored 7421 runs at an average of 50.48 (and a strike-rate of 89.15). He is the fastest player to score 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000 and 7000 runs in ODI cricket.

Like Kohli, Amla too has a habit of converting his starts and making some big hundreds. He has 26 ODI hundreds and 34 half-centuries to his name. He has a conversion rate of 43.33 which is marginally better than Kohli and thus, Amla is #3 on this list.

#2 David Warner – 45.16%

Warner has been very consistent over the last few years

When a pocket-sized dynamo from New South Wales smashed the likes of Ntini, Steyn, Albie Morkel and Kallis all around the MCG on his international debut in the first T20I in January 2009, it looked like he was going to be the next superstar from Australia.

However, David Warner couldn’t quite replicate his T20 success as he played only 10 ODI games between 2009 and 2011. He scored just 210 runs in those 10 matches. But slowly as he grew in experience, he started becoming consistent. And today, Warner is the superstar that he had earlier promised.

The left-hander is one of the best openers in world cricket at the moment. The last 3-4 years have been superb for Australia’s premier opener. In the period 2015-2017, he has averaged over 50 in each of the three years and has hit 12 ODI hundreds during the period.

Overall, Warner has played 106 ODIs and has amassed 4343 runs at an average of 43.43. Out of the 31 scores of 50+, he has converted 14 of those into hundreds which puts him second-best on the list of best conversion rates in ODI cricket.

#1 Quinton de Kock – 46.43%

De Kock has been one of the stars of the South African ODI line-up in the last few years

Quinton de Kock might be struggling currently for form and runs, but he is #1 on the list of players with best conversion rates in ODI cricket. After impressing at the Under-19 level, De Kock had a scratchy start to his ODI career. In his first 13 games, he had scored 399 runs with only one 50+ score and that was a century.

However, the baby-faced wicket-keeper caught the world’s attention when he struck three hundreds in as many games against India in 2013. It was that year (2013) that proved to the launch pad for De Kock as he struck a total of four ODI hundreds.

In fact, his first five 50+ scores were all converted into a ton. And at one point in his career (at the end of 2015), he had 8 hundreds and 5 fifties.

Overall, he has 13 hundreds and 15 fifties in 90 games. And so far, in his 5-year international career, de Kock has scored at least 2 ODI tons every year. Thus, his conversion rate of 46.43% is the best in ODI cricket.