Top 10 ODI batsmen from the 90s

In the 90s, when Sachin Tendulkar was building his reputation as the greatest batsman in the modern era, there were a few others who staked their claim as the best with the willow in the limited overs arena. During the 90s, ODI cricket was privileged to witness a galaxy of batting stalwarts who looked a class apart from the rest.

Sachin Tendulkar was engaged in a fierce rivalry with West Indian flawed genius Brain Lara, Australia’s Mark Waugh and Pakistan’s Inzamam Ul Haq for being hailed as the best stroke maker in the world. Besides them, you also had some world class batsmen in Aravinda De Silva, Mohammad Azharuddin and Sanath Jayasuriya and Saeed Anwar who were second to none with their ability with the willow.

So it would be interesting to compile a list of the best one day batsman of the 90s who entertained cricket fans all across the globe with their master class stroke play.

The time frame taken into consideration for selection is the decade of 90s (1990-1999)

For my selection, i have considered only those batsman who scored above 3000 runs at an average of at least 25.

I have considered consistency at run scoring, strike rate and ability to score hundreds as the main parameters for ranking the batsmen from 1 to 10.

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#1 Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is arguably God’s greatest gift to world cricket. Sachin was India’s batting mainstay all through the 90s. A young Tendulkar started his career batting in the middle order but a whirlwind 82 off just 49 deliveries against New Zealand at Napier opening the innings tempted the Indian think tank to make him shift up the order. There was no looking back. Sachin made the opening slot his own and became a prolific run-getter for India all through the 90s.

The 'Master Blaster' plundered 24 tons against quality attacks all through the decade. His game was based on his perfect balance, still head and exquisite timing. He possessed all the shots in armory but looked vintage with his classic drives straight down the ground. Sachin carried the expectation of billion die-hard fans and more often than not brought joy and happiness to the entire nation with his exceptional strokeplay.

Sachin Tendulkar ODI Record (1990- 1999)

Matches:228 | Runs: 8571 | Avg: 43.07 | SR: 86.81 | 100s 24

#2 Brain Lara

Brian Lara

The enormously talented enigmatic Brian Lara produced some moments of magic with his enthralling stroke play all through the 90s. The 'Prince of Trinidad' with a high backlift and exaggerated late shuffle brought in that Calypso flavor into his batting. His uncorking of the wrists and piercing the gaps at will made him a class apart.

Equally adept against pace and spin, Lara could produce some magical knocks for the Windies. Lara had the ability to play the ball late and struck good deliveries for boundaries. Lara looked vintage with those extra cover drives and his trademark late cuts. With Windies showing signs of decline, Lara was one of the saviors of the Maroon Brigade along with Carl Hooper, Jimmy Adams, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Brain Lara ODI Record (1990-1999)

Matches: 162 | Runs: 6166 | Avg: 42.81 | SR: 79.30 | 100s: 13

#3 Mark Waugh

Mark Waugh

Mark Waugh would go down as the most flamboyant batsman of the 90s. Mark Waugh had a touch of class which made his strokeplay look stylish. Mark was a free-flowing player who favored the leg side. He was one of the best exponents of the flick shot. The right-handed opener had the gift of timing and made batting look poetic. Once set, Mark generally took on the responsibility of playing through the innings and generally got big hundreds for the Aussies.

The junior Waugh was Australia's most dependable opener all through the 90s and formed potent opening pairs with both Mark Taylor and Adam Gilchrist. When on full song, it was delightful watching Mark toying with the best of attacks with his silken batting touches.

Mark Waugh ODI Record (1990-1999)

Matches: 191 | Runs: 6839 | Avg: 39.76 | SR: 77.22 | 100s: 13

#4 Saeed Anwar

Saeed Anwar

Saeed Anwar was Pakistan’s most prolific opening batsman all through the 90s. The elegant southpaw did not move his feet much but was blessed with the gift of timing. The left-hander wasn’t a belligerent hitter but caressed the ball beautifully using his exquisite timing. Anwar looked graceful with his booming drives on the off side. He was quick on his feet and played spin with relative ease.

Anwar had a penchant to score big hundreds and his 194 run knock against India at Chennai is a testimony of the same. Unlike most subcontinent players, Anwar was a good player of seam bowling and did well on overseas tours in Australia. In the mid-90s, he formed a potent opening duo with Aamir Sohail which provided Pakistan with the much-required stability up the order.

Saeed Anwar ODI Record (1990-1999)

Matches: 180 | Runs: 6664 | Avg: 40.63 | SR: 83.05 | 100s: 17

#5 Inzamam Ul Haq

Inzamam-Ul-Haq

Inzamam Ul Haq would go down as one of Pakistan’s most naturally gifted stroke maker. Inzamam had a lazy elegance about his stroke play and made batting look rather effortless. The big burly Pakistan batsman showcased his pedigree as a world-class batsman when he single-handedly won the semi-finals against New Zealand in the 1992 World Cup.

'Inzi' was a master milking the singles and rotating the strike. He had a cool head on his shoulders and mastered the art at pacing his innings. Once Inzi had his eyes set, he could tonk some huge sixes and take the team across the finishing line. Along with Mohammad Yousuf, he became the lynchpin of Pakistan's middle order.

Inzamam Ul Haq ODI Record (1990-1999)

Matches: 200 | Runs: 6475 | Avg: 39.48 | SR: 72.79 | 100s: 6

#6 Aravinda De Silva

Aravinda de Silva

Aravinda De Silva was Sri Lanka’s most complete batsman in the 90s. A classy player, De Silva had a well-organized technique and all the shots in his armory to explode into the opposition's bowling attack. In the 90s, De Silva became the lynchpin of the Sri Lankan middle order with the likes of Arjuna Ranatunga and Roshan Mahanama.

De Silva looked in full command when he drove through the covers or pulled the short pitch ball with utter disdain. A man for the big occasions, his batting came good at major finals. One cannot forget his invaluable knocks in the semis and finals of the 1996 World Cup which helped Sri Lanka win their maiden World Cup title.

Aravinda De Silva ODI Record (1990-1999)

Matches: 196 | Runs: 6441 | Avg: 37.44 | SR: 82.77 | 100s: 11

#7 Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya was the most destructive opener in the 90s by a mile. Jayasuriya could tear away the best of with his brutal assault. Sanath relied on his superb hand-eye coordination to pick the length of deliveries early and dispatch them over the boundary. A fierce puller and cutter, Jayasuriya could pack a punch with those iron like forearms.

Sanath and his opening partner Romesh Kaulwitharana revolutionized batting with their pinch-hitting exploits at the 1996 World Cup. The 'Matara Mauler' pulverized bowling attacks to spearhead Sri Lanka's title-winning campaign at the World Cup. Jayasuriya’s whirlwind cameos became a nightmare of most bowling attacks. For someone who batted lower down the order, Sanath did considerably well in establishing himself as a front line opening batsman.

Sanath Jayasuriya ODI Record (1990-1999)

Matches: 195 | Runs: 5083 | Avg: 28.39 | SR: 90.84 | 100s: 7

#8 Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly was one of finest ODI opener for India in the 90s. The elegant southpaw looked majestic with his spectacular stroke play on the off side against seamers. Ganguly used his feet well against spinner and hit them for some towering sixes. Ganguly formed a deadly opening duo with Sachin Tendulkar, which formed the nucleus of the Indian batting lineup.

Ganguly played the cover drive to perfection and executed the leg glance as well as anybody Much like Tendulkar, Ganguly also had the knack of scoring big hundreds once he got his eye in. Some of Dada’s best knocks came at World Cups and Champions Trophy. His 183 against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup at Taunton was perhaps the best he ever played in the limited overs format.

The 'Prince of Kolkata' had arrived on the ODI scene and bloomed for India with his prolific run getting.

Sourav Ganguly ODI Record (1990-1999)

Matches: 126 | Runs: 4705 | Avg: 42.38 | SR: 71.39 | 100s: 9

#9 Micheal Bevan

Michael Bevan

Micheal Bevan has arguably the best finisher one day cricket has ever witnessed. In the 90s, Bevan provided a sense of calm and composure to the Australian batting line-up. Coming to bat in the lower middle order, Bevan was a great reader of the game and planned the tempo of his innings to perfection.

He was a master at maneuvering the ball in the gaps and converted his ones into two by running swiftly between the wickets. Bevan was cool as a cucumber and pressure never got to him. More often than not, he took Australia past the victory line holding the innings at one end in nerve-wracking games. Consistency was his forte and a staggering batting average which touched almost 60 was a testament of how professionally he went about his role as a finisher.

Michael Bevan ODI Record

Matches: 122 | Runs: 3922 | Avg: 60.33 | SR: 76.6 | 100s: 3

#10 Gary Kristen

Gary Kirsten

In the 90s, the South African ODI team under the captaincy of Hansie Cronje was a star-studded outfit with Gary Kirsten as the workhorse of their batting line-up. The left-handed opener was a run grafter who provided stability to the innings up the order. Kristen played second fiddle to the more extravagant stoke makers like Gibbs and Cullinan and played the sheet anchor’s role to perfection.

Gary had a solid defence and loads of patience to stay on the wicket. Perhaps not as talented as a Lara or Sachin, he was a workhorse who went about his batting in a rather unassuming manner. Gary Kirsten produced a gem of an innings at the 1996 World Cup when he scored a mammoth 188 against UAE.

Gary Kristen ODI Record (1990-1999)

Matches: 112 | Runs: 4044 | Avg: 40.03 | SR: 70.55 | 100s: 8

Before i conclude, i need to mention about those cricketers who were among the top one day batsmen during the 90s but did not make the cut as they were just a little behind the all time greats like Sachin or Lara in terms of consistency at scoring runs and ability to win matches for their countries.

There were some batsmen like Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Jacques Kallis who came onto the ODI arena in the 90s but bloomed as world class stroke makers in the next decade, hence missed the cut

Honourable Mentions

India - Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja, Rahul Dravid, Navjot Singh Sidhu

South Africa - Hansie Cronje, Daryll Cullinan, Jonty Rhodes, Andrew Hudson

Australia - Mark Taylor, David Boon, Dean Jones, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh

Pakistan - Ijaz Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Aamir Sohail, Rameez Raja

New Zealand - Nathan Astle, Stephen Fleming, Chris Cairns, Adam Parore

West Indies - Carl Hooper, Jimmy Adams, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Phil Simmons

Sri Lanka - Arjuna Ranatunga, Roshan Mahanama, Romesh Kaluwitharana

Zimbabwe - Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Alistair Campbell

England - Graeme Hick, Alec Stewart