Who are the best batsmen of this generation?
What's the story
In this era of cricket, it is extremely hard to point out the best cricketer in the world, let alone the best batsman. However, with the new cricketing season set to begin soon, we have handpicked the top five international batsmen, who have helped their teams to win big matches. Let us have a look at what makes them the best batsmen!
Alastair Cook
The only current batsman with 10,000+ test runs
Former England captain Alastair Cook is the only cricketer of the current generation to have scored more than 10,000 runs in test cricket. With 11,325 test runs and 30 centuries, Cook is one of the greatest English players of all time. The 32-year old was the youngest player to score 7k, 8k, 9k, 10k and 11k test runs. He has an average of 46.03.
Hashim Amla
Modern era's most balanced cricketer
On second place is South Africa's Hashim Amla, who has managed to dominate all the three formats of the game. Having had many firsts to his name, Amla has an average of 49 in tests and 50.25 in ODI cricket. He has 8281 test runs and 7186 ODI runs, including 51 international centuries. His average in SA's away win test matches is 57.03.
Kane Williamson
New Zealand's greatest ever?
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has an average of 51.16 in tests and 46.98 in the ODIs, and is one of the 13 players who has scored a century against every test playing nation. The 27-year old has 5116 runs in test matches and 4605 runs in ODIs, and has hit 17 and nine centuries respectively.
Steve Smith
ICC's top test batsman
The Australian skipper has an extra-ordinary average of 61.05 in tests, the third highest after Don Bradman and Adam Voges. Winner of the 2015 ICC Cricketer of the Year award, Smith has scored 5251 runs in tests, and 3187 in ODI matches. He has 20 centuries, his highest score being 215 and was the leading run-scorer for his team in the 2015 World Cup.
Joe Root
The England cricket team captain
With an average of 53.21 in tests and 49.37 in ODIs, Joe Root has emerged as one of the best batsmen in the world in the recent years. Root has 5055 test and 3802 ODI runs to his name, including 12 and 10 centuries in test and ODI cricket respectively. He averages 75.80 in England's test wins and 66.87 in ODI wins.
Virat Kohli
Indian skipper
While there is no doubt that Virat Kohli is one the best and in-form batsmen in the current generation, we have kept him out of the race from international cricketers on purpose. He has not played that many away matches to qualify in this list. However, he has an impeccable average of 49.63 in tests, 54.68 in ODIs and 52.96 in T20 internationals.
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The fab four
Legendary New Zealand batsman Martin Crowe in an article had described Joe Root, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith and Virat Kohli as the best four batsman in the current generation, terming them as - The Fab Four of test cricket.