Michael Clarke names the seven greatest batsmen he has played with or against in international cricket

Former World Cup-winning captain Michael Clarke has listed seven batsmen who he thinks were the greatest he played with or against. Surprisingly, only one Australian name- Ricky Ponting- features in his exhaustive list. He also picked an Indian player who he thinks had the best technique- Sachin Tendulkar.

Clarke was part of the Big Sports Breakfast radio show, where he mentioned the names of some batting heavyweights in international cricket, and his list included the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, and Kumar Sangakkara.

He spoke highly of batting legend Tendulkar and termed him the batsman with the best technique in international cricket. With a sense of what Tendulkar brought to the table, Clarke stated that he used to hope Tendulkar would make mistakes, as they were the only way to could get him out.

“Probably technically the best batsman I ever saw... The hardest batsman to get out. I think Sachin, technically, didn’t have a weakness. Part of you hoped that he made a mistake.”

However, he put West Indies legend Brian Lara not far behind on the ladder. Clarke revealed that Lara's aggression against the Australians made him an automatic choice, and stated that all the batsmen on his list performed against Australians, and put in incredible performances on the big stage.

“Probably my favourite batsman through my career... You look at statstics and his average is probably not as high as others names on this list but it was the way he played, whether that it was against fast bowlers or spinners. It was the success he had against Australia. That’s the other thing about these batsmen I’ve picked is that they all dominated Australia. You think of an attack with McGrath, Gillespie, Brett Lee, Shane Warne — these guys bowling to these batsmen — and they all found a way to have success.”

Clarke reckons Kohli is the best batsman across all three formats of the game.

Clarke then shifted his attention to current Indian captain Kohli, who according to him is the best batsman across all three formats. Clarke praised Kohli on his attitude towards Test cricket and his hunger to made daddy hundreds like Tendulkar.

“I think right now the best batsman across all three formats... His one day and twenty twenty records are phenomenal and he’s also found a way to dominate Test cricket. What Kohli and Tendulkar have in common is they love making big hundreds.”

Clarke named two South Africans in the list, de Villiers and Kallis, and praised them for their impact over the years. He hailed the former as the most versatile cricketer, since he could bat anywhere in the batting order, while on the other hand, he named Kallis the greatest all-rounder he ever played against. He specifically mentioned their success-rate against the Aussies, which was an important factor while selecting the players.

“I’m hoping he comes back and plays for South Africa again. Superstar. Can bat anywhere in the order. Dominates T20 cricket. He can score runs anywhere around the ground.”

"The greatest all-rounder that I played against... The impact he had against Australia, the way he was able score runs against our attack was extraordinary.”

Australian team with the 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup trophy

The only Australian who made Clarke's list was two-time World Cup-winning captain Ponting. Clarke stated that this was the toughest decision as he has played with some phenomenal Aussie batsmen before in his career, like Matthew Hayden, Steve Smith, David Warner, Adam Gilchrist, and Damien Martyn.

However, according to Clarke, Ponting's dominating style of batting regardless of the opposition bowler put him a cut above the rest.

“He’s probably the best Australian batsman I played with... I was lucky enough to play with some great batsman — Matthew Hayden, Steve Smith, David Warner, Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn who was a genius. What separates Ricky is the era that he played. Just about every attack had two or three top-line, world-class bowlers and he was able to dominate them.”

Lastly, Clarke's ended the list with Sri Lanka's Sangakkara at the last spot, and talked about the wicket-keeper batsman's herculean effort of scoring three back-to-back centuries at the 2015 WC. He stated that although Sangakkara was a force to reckon with, he always maintained his composure and was a true gentleman of the game.

“He seems to be forgotten regularly... Phenomenal. Batted at number three which I think is the toughest position. I think he scored three hundreds in a row in the World Cup. Sangakkara was a force and an absolute gentleman of the game.”

Michael Clarke won the World Cup twice in his career, the first one coming in 2007 while the other was won under his own leadership in 2015. In his illustrious Test career, he scored 8643 runs at an average of 48.83 in 115 Tests, including 28 centuries. In ODIs, he plundered 7981 runs in 245 matches at an average of 44.59.