Azhar Ali is probably the most under rated batsman ever to play Test Cricket for Pakistan. I am not too sure why he does not get the respect that a batsman like him deserves.

More than 7,000 test runs; a 40+ average; 19 test centuries; a triple hundred; a double hundred.

The only Pakistan batsmen ahead of him are the greats Javed Miandad, Inzamam Ul Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, and Younis Khan.

I get that he can't be classified as a test great given that his average is quite far from the coveted 50 mark, but he has been the mainstay of Pakistan's test batting line up for the past decade.

He is also the best test number 3 that Pakistan has had, barring the great Younis Khan.

As soon as Pakistan's 18-man squad for the Test Series against England was announced, there were a number of fans questioning the presence of Azhar Ali.

WHY!??

Maybe it has something to do with him not playing ODIs and T20Is, and the fans forget the value Azhar brings to the test side?

Maybe some fans don't fully understand the requirements of a batsman like Azhar Ali in a test batting line up?

I am really not sure what it is.

Especially considering he scored a 185 against Australia in the last home series that Pakistan played; in a game where no batsman from Australia got to a 100!

Some fans pointed out that Azhar has been living of past achievements and does not deserve to be in the team based on recent performance.

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?

Here is a list of the top 20 run scorers in Test Cricket over the period 2020-22.

I see only two Pakistanis in the list.

And I can name a few big names from other countries, as well as, those from the "Fab 4" who are not in this list. Yet they continue to feature in Test Cricket.

Only our fans can have issues with such stars of the game.

I have another stat for you all.

Azhar bats at number 3, which is one of the most crucial positions in a batting line up. Especially in Test Cricket. It is also one of the most difficult positions to bat in.

Here are the best performing number 3s in Test Cricket over the period 2020-22.

I really wonder what these fan critics are on.

And it also does not make sense to drop someone who has been performing consistently!

Here is a summary of his performance in Pakistan's recent Test Series.

vs Sri Lanka (in Sri Lanka): Played 1 Test, scored 3 and 6.

vs Australia (in Pakistan): Scored 300 runs in 5 innings at an average of 60, including a 185 and a 78.

vs Bangladesh (in Bangladesh): 0, 24*, and 56

vs West Indies (in West Indies): 17, 23, 0, and 22

vs Zimbabwe (in Zimbabwe): 36 and 126

vs South Africa (in Pakistan): 51, 31*, 0, and 33

vs New Zealand (in New Zealand): 5, 38, 93, and 37

vs England (in England): 0, 18, 20, 141*, and 31

So where is the failure?

The only series where he failed was against West Indies.

A player is allowed 1 bad series in 3 years; or do Pakistan fans not have the patience for that either?

He has scored runs in every series, against all opposition, in all conditions home and away!

I will never understand the criticism against him.

Azhar is the mainstay of Pakistan's test batting line up, one of the best test batsmen produced by Pakistan.

I hope the fans will leave him alone, give him some respect, and let him play for as long as he keeps scoring valuable runs for the team.

In the past three years, from July 2019 to July 2022, Babar has been the best in the world when it comes to Test Cricket. While he has the 6th most runs in test cricket in this period, he has the highest average in this format. If Pakistan got to play as many Tests as England, India, or Australia, you know where he would be in this list.

Nevertheless, that average of 62 is right up there and unmatched at the moment, and whether there is a Fab 4 or a Fab 5 or a Fab anything, Babar is right at the top of that Fab list!

There is no doubt about Babar being the best ODI batsman in the world. He is the second highest run scorer in ODIs in this three year period, and his average of 82 shows how far above and beyond he is than the rest of the pack. No one has scored as many ODI tons as Babar has in this time, and the next best average is 27 runs away!

Is there a Fab list in ODIs or is he the only Fab ONE?

In T20Is, there is no one who has been as consistent as Babar has, barring Virat Kohli over the years and Mohammad Rizwan last year. In this 3 year period, Babar is the second highest run scorer, has the third best average, and the most number of 50s. 

He is by far the best white ball batsman at the moment. No wonder the ICC also ranks him at the top in both formats.

Whether it is number of runs, average, strike rate (that slaps a lot of faces), centuries, or fifties, Babar is at the top of every list across formats in international cricket over the past 3 years.

He is the only batsman in the world who is ranked in the top 5 for each format. He tops the list for two of those formats. 

Since Babar Azam became the number one ranked ODI Batsman in the world, comparison between him and Virat Kohli has flooded social media.

Not only fans, but even former cricketers have weighed in with their retorts.

The comparison between the two batting greats is natural as it was Kohli who was dethroned by Babar in the ODI rankings. Plus, Babar and Kohli are the only two batsmen in the world who are ranked in the top 10 (actually top 6) in each format, which clearly makes them the best in the world at present.

However, there is a big difference between the two.

Kohli has been playing international cricket for 13 years! While Babar has been around for only 6 years. Kohli has played 435 international matches across formats. Babar has not even played 200.

While comparison may be natural, it is not entirely fair given the different era that they started their careers in, and the different stage of their careers they are in now.

But who are we to stop this comparison.

Where Babar ranks higher than Kohli in ODIs and T20Is, Kohli ranks higher in Tests.

Kohli is the only batsman in the world who averages over 50 in each format. Babar was there once, but currently he is not.

If you compare Kohli's performance during the first third of his career, i.e. after the same number of innings as Babar has played currently in each format, you will note that Babar's numbers are superior.

In terms of runs, Kohli is ahead in Tests; however Babar has a significant lead in the limited overs formats. In terms of average, I would say that Babar is ahead given the stark difference in their ODI average.

Overall, Babar's numbers are better considering he has scored 7,915 international runs in 184 innings, compared to Kohli's 7,332.

One can't ignore the fact that when Kohli started his career with India, he was in the company of very good batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, and Yuvraj Singh. Even presently, he has the likes of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya Rahane.

Meaning that there was a lot less pressure on Kohli; whereas Babar has had to many a time single handedly carry Pakistan's batting.

All what the above comparison shows us is that Babar has been far better than Kohli during the initial part of their careers. Kohli from hereon, improved with every season, and went on the become the absolute best batsman in the world across formats; and still is.

Babar has laid down a tremendous platform to sky rocket. He too has improved with every season and currently his batting is at a level that none of us have witnessed before.

The momentum is with him with his best years well ahead of him. If Babar can keep improving, or even continue in the same vein, he will do well to level with Kohli, if not go past him.

Pakistan have played 5 tests this season (2019-20) and in each of those tests, Babar Azam has shown the world why he is the most exciting batsman in the world at the moment.

Babar's scores in these 5 tests read: 1, 104, 97, 8, 102*, 60, 100*, 143.

Four centuries and a ninety odd in 5 tests. A century in each of the home tests played till date.

Babar Azam, the test batsman has arrived!

Currently, Babar is the only batsman in the world who ranks in the top 5 in each format. He is the only batsman in the world with a rating of 800 or more in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is.


Following his 143 in the first test against Bangladesh, Babar has pushed his Test Average above 45 for the first time in his career. His ODI and T20I averages are both above 50.

Currently, Virat Kohli is the only member of the elite club of batsmen with an average over 50 in each format.

With the way Babar's season is going, it will not be long before he joins Kohli in this elite club.

In tests played as a part of ICC's World Test Championship, which began this season, Babar is not only among the leading run scorers, he is the only batsman averaging over a 100!


His 4 centuries are right up there, level with the find of the season - Marnus Labuschagne.

In addition to scoring a Test Hundred in Australia against the world's best bowling attack, Babar has ensured that the return Test Cricket to Pakistan has coincided with his rise in the format.

Babar has made Pakistan's home cricket season, its first in over a decade, his very own!

He has scored a century in each of Pakistan's home tests and he is averaging a phenomenal 202.5 across these three test matches.


Pakistan will play one more Test at home this season and then play another three in the summer in England. The year till end with two tests in New Zealand.

Another six tests; I am going to place my bets on Babar being at the top of ICC Test Batting Rankings by then.

Babar's time is NOW!

A few days ago, on one of my many Whatsapp groups for cricket, I was involved in quite a discussion regarding Virat Kohli.

It started off with whether Kohli was worthy of the ICC Award for ODI Cricketer of the Year, and then moved to his press conference at the conclusion of the second test against South Africa.

Some felt that Kohli had lost his cool and should not behaved the way he did. While others, including me, felt that the journalist was needlessly poking him and Kohli did nothing wrong.

Amidst all the discussion, I passed a statement (in context) about Kohli being the best batsman in the world at the moment.

One friend said it was debatable, to which I replied that among the current crop, he is far ahead of the likes of Steve Smith, Joe Root, and Kane Williamson and what is debatable is whether Kohli is the best ever batsman or not.

Average Across Formats

In my mind, there is absolutely no doubt that Virat Kohli is the best batsman in the world at the moment. The one fact that I always state to support that statement is that he is the only batsman in the world who averages above 50 in every format of the game.

There is no other batsman in the world, past or present, who has managed that.


Among the current crop of leading batsmen that play all three formats, only Joe Root and AB De Villiers average above fifty in two formats.

The 'Index' shown in the above table is an average that has been determined by assigning a weight of 50% to the test average, 40% to the ODI average, and 10% to the T20 average. This Index shows that Kohli is well ahead of the rest of the world.

Undoubtedly, Steve Smith has a remarkable test average is arguably the better Test batsman; however when it comes to adapting your game across formats, Kohli is the absolute champion.

Average in Subcontinent and Outside

The biggest criticism of batsmen from the Subcontinent is that they have inflated averaged because they score in batsmen friendly conditions at home and fail when batting in foreign conditions.

Strangely enough that argument is never used for batsmen from Australia and England when they pile on the runs at home and fail miserably in the Subcontinent.

Well, the table below will highlight that Virat Kohli is just as good in the Subcontinent as he is outside of it.


If anything, the table above shows that the Australian Pair - Smith and Warner - perform exceptionally at home and in similar conditions; however their average drops significantly in the subcontinent.

The South Africans are a strange anomaly as both AB and Amla average more in the subcontinent than they do outside of it.

Williamson and Root have the least difference between their averages in the two conditions.

Centuries Across Formats

The fact that impresses me most about Virat Kohli is his ability to score international hundreds.

Whether it is an ODI or a Test, whether his team is batting first or chasing, whether the match is played in home conditions or foreign, Kohli scores an international hundred on an average every 5.7 innings!

That is remarkable considering that no other batsman with at least 40 international centuries scores a hundred as frequently as every 6th inning.


Kohli has scored 53 international centuries. In ODIs, with 32 centuries, he is behind only Sachin Tendulkar. In tests he has a long way to go; however his combined tally is right up there with the best the world has ever seen.

Only Tendulkar, Ponting, Sangakkara, Kallis, and Amla have more international centuries than Kohli does. All of them have also batted in significantly more innings than Kohli has.

Barring Tendulkar, Kohli will surpass all of them in the next 3-4 years.

He has scored test centuries against all 7 opposition that he has faced. He has not played tests against Pakistan and Zimbabwe. Out of his 21 test hundreds, 10 have been scored in India and 11 outside India.

He has scored ODI centuries against all 9 test playing nations. Out of his 32 ODI hundreds, 14 were scored in India and 18 outside India.

This is his most remarkable feat. His ability to score hundreds frequently against all opposition and in all sorts of conditions.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Virat Kohli is the best batsman in the world currently and perhaps also the best ever to play cricket.

Over the years I have criticized Misbah no end for his ODI captaincy and for his ODI batting. I believe replacing Shahid Afridi as ODI captain in 2011 with Misbah was one of the gravest mistakes ever committed. Misbah's defensive approach crippled Pakistan's ODI team and we are all aware of the sad state our ODI team is in.

The same approach however did wonders for the Test team, and for that I applaud Misbah Ul Haq the Test Captain and the Test Batsman.

What Misbah achieved in his almost 7 years as captain of Pakistan's Test team is unprecedented in the history of Pakistan cricket.

Here is a look at his accomplishments as a Test Captain.

GREATEST TEST CAPTAIN FROM THE SUBCONTINENT

Number 1 Test Ranking for Pakistan.
Most Test wins ever for a Pakistan captain.
Second most Test wins for a captain from the subcontinent.
Most test wins away from home for a subcontinent captain.
Most Test series wins for a subcontinent captain.
First Test series win over Australia in over 20 years.
3-0 clean sweep of England when they were Number 1.
Pakistan's record and world's 6th highest run chase in Test cricket.
World's fastest run chase in Test cricket.
Pakistan's first ever Test series win in the West Indies.
Most Test wins by a captain from the Subcontinent in the West Indies.

These achievements by the team under Misbah truly make him the greatest Test captain ever for Pakistan; and probably from the Subcontinent too.


ONE OF THE BEST FROM PAKISTAN

Misbah recently became the 7th batsman from Pakistan to score 5,000 Test runs. He ended his career as the 6th highest run scorer for Pakistan in test cricket. One can only wonder how many more he could have scored had he played as much as the ones above him.

BEST TEST BATSMAN FROM THE SUBCONTINENT AS A CAPTAIN

Misbah scored over 80% of his Test runs - 4,214 to be exact - as captain of Pakistan. He scored 8 of his 10 Test centuries and 35 of his 39 fifties as captain.

He is not only the highest run scorer among all Test captains from Pakistan, he is also the highest run scorer among all Test captains from the Subcontinent; and the only batsman from the Subcontinent with over 4,000 Test runs as captain.

Among all Test captains, Misbah has the 8th highest runs tally and has one of the best averages among the top 10 highest scoring captains of all time.

MATCH WINNER AS A CAPTAIN

Misbah not only contributed to Pakistan's test wins as a leader of the troops on the field; he also led from the front as a batsman scoring more runs than any captain from the Subcontinent in Test victories.

Among all Test captains he has the 7th highest runs tally in Test victories, and his phenomenal average of 69.7 is the third best of all time, behind two great Australian captains.

FASTEST HUNDRED AND FIFTY IN TESTS

It is quite ironic that a man who became known as "Tuk Tuk" due to his ultra defensive batting holds the record for the fastest fifty and second fastest century scored in Test cricket.

When he got that century off only 56 deliveries against Australia, it was the joint fastest ever in the history of the game. It was bettered by Brendan McCullum.



Misbah's retirement is one of those rare Pakistani sport retirements that have come at a time when he was still at the top of his game. Rarely have Pakistani greats bowed out the way Misbah did after Pakistan's first ever series victory in the West Indies.

It was a match and series that will be remembered for a long time to come.

Misbah was truly captain fantastic for Pakistan and one of the best leaders to serve our nation. There hasn't been anyone like him, and I doubt there will be any in the future.

Soon after England secured the Ashes to seal their decade long dominance over Australia at home, they were met with some more positive news.

Joe Root was the new world number 1 ranked test batsman, overtaking AB De Villiers.

Root has been magnificent for England in both limited overs and tests since his debut about two and a half years ago. So much so, that he is now not only England's most reliable batsman but among the best in the world.

We have seen a number of great batsmen in test cricket. Each decade has provided us with some of the game's greats like Border, Gavaskar, Miandad, and Richards in the 80s; Waugh, Sachin, Lara, and Inzamam in the 90s, Ponting, Dravid, Sangakkara, and Kallis during the first decade of the new century; and also Younis Khan, De Villiers, Amla, Clarke, Cook, and KP over the past decade.

Similarly, the past 5 years has seen the rise of a new generation of batsmen.

Like Joe Root for England, there have been a few others who have emerged to become their team's most reliable batsmen in the recent few years.

There has been Virat Kohli for India, Steven Smith for Australia, Azhar Ali for Pakistan, Kane Williamson for New Zealand, and Angelo Matthews for Sri Lanka.

Each one of them has performed at an exceptional level in international cricket and has fast become the mainstay of their respective batting line up. Their success has also been recognized with all of them, barring Root, captaining their national side in at least one format (Kane Williamson as a stand in).

There is no doubt in my mind that these are the next set of batting greats that will shine for the next 7-10 years in test cricket. These are the names that will dominate batting charts going forward.

But who among them is the best out of the lot?

Like Border and Gavaskar, Sachin and Lara, Ponting and Kallis, and Sangakkara and Younis were the best during their respective decades, which two out of the current lot are the best right now?

Here's a look at some numbers.

(For the purpose of this analysis, only those batsmen who have played at least 30 tests and made their debut since July 2009 have been assessed)

Leading Averages

It is no surprise that each one of the above mentioned batsmen are among those with the current highest test averages, with Root and Smith right at the top.


Most Frequent Century Makers

Four of these batsmen have scored at least 10 test centuries already, but no one scores them more often than Virat Kohli who scores a ton after every 5 innings or so.


Biggest Match Winners

The most prominent sign of great test batsmen is how often they produce match winnings knocks. Most batsmen can score a lot of runs, but scoring meaningful runs that help win matches is what makes these batsmen great.

Warner and Azhar have been involved in most test wins among these batsmen; both of them are the leading run scorers in test wins as well; Root, Smith, and Williamson have exceptional averages in test wins; while Warner and Smith have the most centuries in test wins.


If it doesn't get better for India, Kohli would well become the Tendulkar of his generation. Lots of runs and centuries, but not enough match winning ones.

Best Away from Home

Everyone knows that it is much easier to bat at home than in foreign conditions. In this regard, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq must be given a lot more credit than the other batsmen considering that they have not played a single test at home.

Having said that, here's how these batsmen perform in foreign locations.

Foreign locations have been determined as outside Indian subcontinent and UAE for Azhar, Asad, Kohli, Matthews; outside Australia and South Africa for Warner and Smith; outside England and New Zealand for Root, Williamson and Watling; outside West Indies for Bravo.


Only Bravo and Root average above 50 in foreign conditions; while Kohli's and Williamson's century hitting ability in foreign conditions is exceptional. Bravo's is a rare case; he averages more away from home than he does at home, and 5 of his 6 test centuries have also come away from home.

The rest of the batsmen seem to have decent records away from home, except for Warner, Azhar, and Asad - while away. they are not even half the batsmen that they are at home.

While all these batsmen are special in their own way, there are only two names that are repeatedly at the top of the pile in the tables above.

Joe Root and Steven Smith.

They have the best average among these batsmen, they score test centuries as frequently as the greats did, they are the leading performers in test match wins, and they have outstanding away records.

The other 8 batsmen have a lot of catching up to do.

Warner, Azhar, and Asad need to significantly improve their away records, while Kohli has to put in more match winning performances. Williamson is not far behind Root and Smith, however to be considered one of the greats he needs to push his average closer to that 50 mark; same goes for Bravo and Watling. As for Mathews; he has established himself as the premier Sri Lankan batsman following the retirements of Sangakkara and Jayawardene. However, to be one of the greats he needs more test centuries and improved performances outside the subcontinent.

While Root and Smith are ahead of the rest right now, all these batsmen are 30 or under, which means their best years are still ahead of them.

There is a lot more for all of them to achieve. With the kind of start they have had to their test careers, they are well placed to reach even greater heights to be considered among the best in the world to ever play the game.

A Pakistan test series is never complete without a post on Younis Khan. Younis has been an instrumental figure in test matches for Pakistan and with every series he stamps his authority and grows in stature as one of the best batsman to ever play the game.

Like Michael Clarke, everyone is caught surprised when they hear that Younis Khan has played only 92 tests in his 14 year career thus far. There are so many batsmen all around the world who began their careers well after Younis and have gone past a 100 tests; Clarke himself, Alastair Cook, and Kevin Pietersen to name a few.

I have always wondered where Younis would have been had Pakistan played as much test cricket as Australia, England or India. His figures in test cricket are comparable to those of the modern day greats, and just because Pakistan does not play as much test cricket, his runs tally is far behind.

However, that alone cannot take anything away from the phenomenal batsman that Younis Khan is. He stands far above his Pakistani compatriots, as well as, his international peers.

Prior to this test series against Australia in the UAE, Younis Khan was a distraught man. Having been dropped from the ODI squad (and rightly so), Younis spoke out against the PCB, declared himself unavailable from all cricket, and challenged the board to build a team without him.

That could have very easily ended his career. Thank God for some sane heads in the PCB, sense prevailed, Younis was cajoled and talked to, and the man decided that he will play.

Not only will he play, but he will play with the aim to become the first Pakistani to score a century against all other 9 test playing nations, to overtake Inzamam Ul Haq as the leading centurion for Pakistan, to overtake Javed Miandad as the leading run scorer in tests for Pakistan, and to become the first Pakistani batsman to reach the 10,000 run landmark in test cricket.

He made his aims public prior to the test series against Australia and how he has appeared as a man on a mission.

In the first innings of the series he achieved the feat of becoming the first Pakistani to score a century against all other 9 test playing nations, and in the second, he surpassed Inzamam Ul Haq's Pakistan record of 25 centuries.

Not only did Younis Khan achieve those two feats, he also became the first Pakistani to score two centuries in a test against Australia and the first batsman in the world to achieve the feat of twin centuries against Australia in the past 40 years!

I don't think I have the words that will do justice to Younis Khan's greatness, so I will just let his numbers speak for themselves.

1. Pakistan's Leading Test Centurion
In the past decade, since January 2005, Younis Khan has the third highest average in tests, behind only Kumar Sangakkara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

During this decade, Younis has performed better than the Sachins, Pontings, and Kallises of the world.

5. King of the 4th Innings
Younis Khan converts 48% of all his fifties into centuries in test cricket. That is a better conversion rate than the likes of Kallis (44%), Sachin (42%), Ponting (40%), Lara (41.5%), Dravid (36%), and many other batsmen who have scored at least 20 test centuries.

It goes without saying that he has the best conversion rates among all Pakistani batsmen to ever play the game. Only 4 batsmen have a better conversion rate than Younis Khan in test cricket.

7. One of the most Frequent Centurions
Sachin, Ponting, Kallis, Dravid, and Sangakkara are the leading 5 run scorers in the history of test cricket. All of them have played over 160 tests in their career, besides Sangakkara who has played 128.

Comparing Younis Khan to these 5 batsmen at the stage that Younis is right now, i.e. 92 test matches, shows that Younis has the third highest runs tally, a bit behind Rahul Dravid and well behind King Sanga.

It is quite impossible to see Younis play as many tests as Ponting, Dravid, and Kallis did, however one can only imagine where Younis would have ranked among the leading test run scorers if only Pakistan played as much test cricket as some of the other nations.

9. A Batting Giant away from Home

The hallmark of any great test batsman is how well he does in matches played away from home, in alien conditions that require adjustments and mental toughness.

Younis Khan has the most runs by a Pakistani batsman and the 4th most runs by any batsman in the history of the game in test matches played away from home.

Only Sachin, Dravid, and Kallis have scored more runs and more centuries in away test matches than Younis has.

10. The Best Number 3 Produced by Pakistan

Younis Khan is by far the best number 3 batsman ever produced by Pakistan. He is well ahead in terms of runs, average, and centuries.

11. A King Match Winner away from Home

Inzamam Ul Haq's prowess as a test match winner for Pakistan is well documented. No one has scored more runs (4,690) or more centuries (17) than Inzamam has in test wins for Pakistan. Younis Khan is second on that list for Pakistan with 3,347 runs and 12 centuries in test wins.

It will take Younis some time to surpass this record of Inzamam, however there is another Inzamam record that Younis surpassed in this massive test win over Australia. Younis Khan's twin centuries in the test match took him past Inzamam as Pakistan's leading run scorer in test match wins away from home.

Not only is Younis the leading run scorer for Pakistan in test wins away from home, he is now only behind the Aussie pair of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting as the leading run scorer in test wins away from home in the history of the game. Both those run tallies are within Younis' sights and he could well end his career as the leading run scorer in test wins away from home.

Younis Khan's average of 86.3 in test wins away from home is the highest average in the world among all batsmen who have scored at least 2,000 runs in test wins away from home. And among all batsmen with at least 1,000 runs in test wins away from home, Younis' 86.3 is only behind Alastair Cook (99.7), Sir Don Bradman (96.8), and Wally Hammond (95.6).

Younis is also third on the list of batsmen with most 100s in test wins away from home. His 11 centuries, including the two in the just concluded match, is only behind Ponting's 12 and Waugh's 14.

As I said, words cannot do justice to the stature of Younis Khan.

He is not only the best test batsman produced by Pakistan, he is also one of their biggest match winners, and arguably the best test match batsman ever produced.

All hail KING KHAN!

Today, on December 3rd 2012, Ricky Ponting played his final international innings. As his innings ended, so did the career of a true legend and arguably the best batsman this generation has seen.

If not the best ever, I personally think he was the best batsman to play the game during the past 15 years.

Ponting retires as the second highest run scorer ever in the history of both test matches and ODIs.

He retires as a 3 time World Cup winner; twice as captain.

He retires with 30 ODI centuries and 41 test centuries, the second and third highest number of tons ever respectively.

He retires with an ODI average of 42, the third highest ever for all batsmen to have played over 300 innings.

He retires having captained Australia in 77 test matches, winning 48 of them - a win % of 62, the second highest win % for players that have captained in at least 25 tests.

He retires with the most number of ODI caps as a captain having led Australia in 230 ODIs, winning 165 of them - a win % of 76, the second highest win % ever for anyone with more than 30 ODI caps as captain.

The only reason why his batting records are second or third on a list is because of the presence of two other legends with whom Ponting's career coincided - Sachin Tendulkar & Jacques Kallis.

His captaincy records are second only to the man he succeeded - Steve Waugh (tests), and the man who led the best cricketing team ever (ODIs) - Clive Lloyd.

The overall statistics will show that he was the second best batsman of all time in tests and ODIs, but as I mentioned above, I think he was the best.

Largely because the game has not seen a bigger match winner than Ricky Ponting.

In test matches, 30 out of his 41 centuries resulted in a win, as compared to 20 (51) for Tendulkar and 21 (44) for Kallis. In ODIs, 25 out of his 30 centuries resulted in a win, as compared to 33 (49) for Tendulkar.

He was involved in 108 test match victories and 262 ODI victories as a player. No other cricketer has been involved in 100 test victories, with the closest being Shane Warne with 92. Kallis and Tendulkar have been involved in 76 and 66 respectively and are the only two cricketers with more than 60 test victories who are not retired yet.

In ODIs, his closest rivals that are still playing are Tendulkar (234 ODI victories), Kallis (206), and Shahid Afridi (195).

These are records that will probably never be broken and Ricky Ponting will remain as the biggest match winner that cricket has ever seen.


Earlier this year, when Ponting's ODI career ended, I wrote about my top 5 Ponting ODI innings and hoped that I wouldn't have to write about my top 5 Ponting Test innings any time soon. But here I am, nine and half months later, doing just that.

The Big Comeback in Adelaide, January 2012
Ponting had not scored a test century for two years when the series against India began on Boxing day last year. In the second test of that series, Ponting broke that drought with a 134 in Sydney. Many wondered whether the form was back or if it was just a glimpse of Ponting of the past. In the 4th and final test of the series in Adelaide, Ponting cracked the 6th double century of his career, scoring 221.

It was one of the finest test innings ever because of the circumstances and the way it was played. No one knew how much longer Ponting would play, and everyone knew he was no longer the batsman that bowlers all around the world feared. He was a much more sedate Ponting who played a classical test innings of 221. His runs came at a strike rate of 54.7 and included only 21 boundaries.

That was not the Ponting we all knew, but it was a determined Ponting who was fighting to play on for far longer than the 11 months since then.

A Stunner in Sydney, January 2006
South Africa declared their second innings on 194-6 to set Australia a target of 287 in 76 overs. It was a sporting declaration and one done in order to try and square a series. That was the only way for Graeme Smith and company. Most of us thought that the match will end in a draw unless South Africa were able to pick up a few quick wickets.

No one really expected Australia to chase down the target even though they were known to score at 3.5-4.0 runs an over in test cricket during those days. But it was a day 5 pitch.

Ponting had other ideas. He walked into bat at 30-1 in the 12th over of the innings and unleashed a belligerent attack on South Africa. He smashed 16 boundaries on his way to an unbeaten 143 of only 159 deliveries and Australia raced to the target in only 60 overs scoring at 4.76 on a day 5 test match wicket.

Only Ponting was capable of something like that.

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Master Class in Manchester, August 2005
The 2005 Ashes is definitely a sour memory for Ponting the captain. But Ponting the batsman will be remembered for playing one of the best test innings ever to save a test match during that series. The series was level at 1-1 going into the 3rd test at Old Trafford and England were brimming with confidence hoping to take a lead.

England were on top throughout this test and had set Australia an improbable target of 423 with the Michael Vaughan giving his bowlers a full day and 10 overs to dismiss the Australians.

It was yet another game that many thought would go England's way. Victory for Australia was highly unlikely and no one really expected the Aussies to fight it out for 100+ overs considering their attacking nature of play.

But where there is Ponting, there is a way. Ponting threw down the anchor in that innings like never before. He curbed his natural instinct and put together his best rearguard effort ever. He batted for 9 minutes short of 7 hours, faced 275 deliveries, and scored 156.

He came to the crease at 25-1 in the 11th over of the innings and the 8th delivery of the final day of the test. He did not leave the crease till the 104th over of the innings, just 4 overs before the close of play. He was the 9th batsman out for Australia and the last pair ensured that Ponting's effort did not go to waste and hung on for a draw.

If even one more recognized batsman had stayed on with Ponting, he might have even gone for the target as Australia ended 52 runs short. But no other batsmen for Australia crossed 40 in that innings, which shows the true master class of Ponting's 156.

The Fightback in Perth, November 1999
Ponting was having a torrid time against Pakistan with his 3 innings in the first 2 tests of the series reading 0,0,0. Wasim, Waqar, and Shoaib had got him once each and he was horribly out of form. In the third test, Pakistan's pacers were on top and had Australia reeling on 54-4 when Ponting walked out to bat.

From there on, Wasim, Shoaib, Mahmood, and Saqlian had no answer as Ponting produced a magnificent innings of 197. He was involved in a 300+ run partnership with Justin Langer that not only rebuilt Australia's innings, but also took the game away from Pakistan.

For a man who was woefully out of form, he should have been a sitting duck for the in form Pakistani pacers; yet Ponting rose to the occasion and batted like he had never to notch up his then highest test score.

Putting it Right in Bangalore, October 2008
In 14 previous test innings in India, Ponting had managed only one fifty - a highest score of 60 in Kolkata in 1998. He had never crossed 18 in the other 13 innings. He had always struggled on the spinning tracks of India, with the most famous rut coming during the 2001 series where he managed 17 runs in 5 innings including 3 ducks.

So when he captained Australia to India in 2008, no one gave him a chance.

Throughout his career, Ponting has been at his most dangerous when people have not given him a chance. He has always stood up and proved them all wrong, and the first test of the 2008 series against India in Bangalore was another such occasion.

Ponting walked out to bat on the 4th delivery of the first morning of the series and grinded it out for five and half hours for a well made 123. His nemesis, Harbhajan Singh, and Anil Kumble could not do much to unsettle Ponting who was determined to prove his detractors wrong.

With his first century in India, he ensured that he had scored a test century in every country where he had played at least two tests (Ponting has played only 1 test each in Pakistan and Zimbabwe; the only two countries where he doesn't have a test century).

For all that Ponting has achieved he deserves trophies from the board, the players, and the fans.

Ricky Ponting is a legend of the game and in my view the best batsman to have played the game. There was none like him, and highly unlikely that there ever will be. There was a time when it seemed like he will overtake Tendulkar as the leading run scorer in tests, but a Tendulkar purple patch coincided with a Ponting run rut and that record remained elusive.

Nevertheless, Ponting leaves the game as its biggest ever match winner, and that tag will remain with him forever.

So the Pakistan vs England test series has finally witnessed a century, and it had to come from one of the most reliable batsmen out there - Younis Khan.

I had been waiting for a Younis Khan century throughout the series and he finally did it today. The most satisfying bit for me about this century was that I called it yesterday and I was there at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium to witness it.

What a knock Younis played.

He and Azhar Ali have all but batted England out of the game. I reckon the 180 lead that Pakistan have right now is more than enough to give Pakistan the whitewash that they have been dreaming of.

Think about it. Out of the 5 England innings so far in this series, they have crossed 200 only once. And I doubt they will do it again.

At this stage of his career, no one besides Rahul Dravid had more runs than Younis Khan did. There is a big difference between the averages of Younis and the rest, however after 76 tests Ponting had the same number of test centuries as Younis does now, with only Sachin ahead of the pack.

Yet, we still salute the true King Khan - Younis Khan!