Best All Time Cricket Player

When you talk about the best all time cricket player, Sir Donald George Bradman "The Don" (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001) stands above the rest. An Australian cricketer, Bradman was often referred to as "The Don" of the sport. His career Test batting average of 99.94 has been claimed by some sports historians to be statistically the greatest achievement in the history of any major sport.

Bradman, like many great athletes, was intense, focused but had some difficulties relating well with people. Probably, his greatest achievement was after quitting cricket during World War II, DG made a dramatic comeback, captaining an Australian team known as "The Invincibles" as it broke all previous records in an unbeaten tour of England.

But, Sachin Tendulkar, from India, often called the "Little Master" or "Master Blaster" of the cricket world is moving up fast and perhaps will one day pass Bradman. The Wisden Cricketers' Almanak has ranked Bradman #1 test batsman all-time and Tendulkar #2. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has also ranked Bradman as the top cricketer ever. [The ICC ranks S.F. Barners from England as the best bowler in history.]

Interestingly, Bradman once saw Tendulkar play on TV and both he and his wife agreed that Sachin reminded them of Bradman when he was at his playing peak.

Tendulkar is already the highest run scorer in world cup history. He is the pride of India and the reason that cricket is almost like a religion in India today. Sachin is the world's highest run scorer in both Tests and One-Day Internationals. He is also the only player to aggregate 6000 runs away from home - 6821 in 87 Tests, that's an average of 53.71. Sachin Tendulkar is also the only player in the history of cricket to score a "double century." That's 200 runs in a One Day International match. He was named by Time Magazine in 2010 (at the age of 37) as one of the 100 most influential people in the world (made the "Time 100" list).

Other great players in the sport today include the batsman Younus Khan from Pakistan and the bowler Muttiah Muralitharan from Sri Lanka. Both are rated first by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2009.

Cricket began in England, but has become a very popular sport all over the world, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries and countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations. So, the best teams and players are in India, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Australia and England. In fact, believe it or not, Cricket is the second most watched team sport in the world.

However, the similar sport of baseball seems to have "stolen its thunder" so to speak in the USA. Baseball is fun to play and a favorite pastime for those who love to go to the field to watch. But in actuality, there is much more action on a cricket field than on a baseball field. The cricket ground is larger and more players are on the field. There is no rotation in batting and so the match appears to be faster. Some people say that cricket is becoming more and more popular and who knows we may find the best all time cricket player right here in America someday!

For now though, the Australian, Sir Donald George Bradman is still the best all time cricket player.

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