Still the king
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
**The toast of the town: Viv Richards was the No. 1 choice for 58% of the jury **
Viv Richards has been crowned the greatest one-day cricketer ever by a jury of 50 eminent players, commentators and writers assembled by the Cricket Monthly.
An astonishing 29 of 50 jurors picked Richards as their first choice, giving him a landslide victory over four other ODI legends*: Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Akram, Adam Gilchrist andMS Dhoni.*
The contest for second place was a close affair between Tendulkar and Akram. Tendulkar, owner of 18,426 runs and 49 centuries, eventually prevailed by a hair’s breadth over Akram, the most exceptional left-arm bowler the game has seen. Rounding off the top five were Gilchrist at No. 4 and Dhoni at No. 5.
In all, 21 cricketers received at least one vote from the jury: six Australians, five Indians, four Pakistanis, two West Indians, two South Africans, a Sri Lankan and an Englishman.
There was no dispute over the greatest, though. Through the late 1970s and '80s Richards was way ahead of his contemporaries. He thrived in different conditions, against a variety of attacks, and raised the bar in the key matches. In an era before big bats, small boundaries and fielding restrictions, Richards tormented bowlers with his power and audacity.
“He batted at Nos. 3 or 4, maintained a strike rate of 90 and an average of 47 and did it in his sleep over 15 exhausting years of dominance,” writes former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe in his tribute to Richards in the March issue of the Cricket Monthly. “Arguably - categorically for me - his 189 not out in Manchester in 1984 is the greatest one-day innings of them all.”
Few walked to the crease oozing as much swagger as Richards, who never wore a helmet even when facing the fastest bowlers. “I felt strong about my presence, you know,” said Richards in an interview to the Cricket Monthly. “Sometimes presence sends a message, ‘Hey, I am ready.’ It’s just the duel between you and the bowler.”
© ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Many fine bowlers suffered at his hands. Australia’s Rodney Hogg, who was at the receiving end of a glorious 153 not out in Melbourne in 1979, recalled Richards’ versatility. “If you pitched the ball on middle and leg it would go between midwicket and mid-on. If you pitched it on off or outside off stump it would go between mid-off and cover. We were all mesmerised.”
The Cricket Monthly’s 50-member jury, drawn from around the globe and spanning several eras, includes legendary cricketers Ian Chappell, Clive Lloyd, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith; veteran commentators Tony Cozier, Mark Nicholas, Mike Haysman and Sanjay Manjrekar; and respected writers Gideon Haigh, Mike Coward, Suresh Menon and Mike Selvey.
ESPNcricinfo’s readers, in a poll run on the site, voted overwhelmingly for Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram. Of the nearly 600,000 users who voted, about 239,000 chose Tendulkar as the greatest ODI player of them all, and more than 225,000 chose Akram.
*The March issue of the *Cricket Monthly contains full results of the exercise, celebrations of the top five, an interview with Richards, memoriesfrom bowlers who faced him, and much more.
**http://www.thecricketmonthly.com/story/846325/still-the-king
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
surprised not to see Ponting's name in the top 5
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
Viv Richards was arguably the best ODI batsman of his era. However, there wasn't really any competition at that time for the hard hitting fast scoring batsman slot. There are a lot more limited overs specialists now, so an all time great ranking is never going to be fair.
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
Having said that, the disdain with which he treated bowlers had to be seen to be believed. And we are talking Lillee Thompson Hadleee et al.
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
Viv played in an era when there was balance between bat and ball. Tracks were laid to assist bowlers unlike featherbeds used today; when SR of 65-70 was considered very good for an ODI batsman. So his average of 47 (most of his career he actually averaged in the early to mid 50s, it only dropped during his last couple of years when his reflexes slowed down) and SR of 90 was exceptional in that era
Since the 1990s playing conditions have been changed to favour the batsman
- wider bats
- shorter boundaries
- batsman-friendly pitches
- restriction on the use of bouncers
- two new balls, one from each end, so no reverse swing
- powerplays and more field restrictions, so more boundaries etc.
- better protective gear, helmets etc.
- overall quality of pace bowling has declined esp. since the 2000s
And it is not just about averages and strike rates. The swagger, the aura, the impact he had on the field is very hard to describe in words. You just had to see it to believe it. Fast bowlers were literally frightened to bowl to Viv
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
@GoldenAsif: You are absolutely right that when it comes to cricket batting, ViV was one of the greats. Condition of ODIs as well as Test with time is changing fast. Due to commercial interest, run making is getting easier. That is the reason today we have 4 batsmen with average above 50 and at the same time SR above 90. We cannot say where they would have been standing in 70s and 80s but certainly they are not as good as some batsmen of the past.
Saying that … I still believe, this election was farce. We need Najam Sethi. He knows how to mend punctures. If Najam Sethi was holding the election, I am sure Shareef brothers … errr sorry … Akmal brothers would have won the election. 
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
That's who i voted for. In the era when 60-70 was good strike rate and 30-40 was good average, VIV was heads and shoulder above in both areas
If he was playing with all these power plays, just 1 (or recently 2) bouncers, shorter grounds etc, I am sure his strike rate would have been 150+ with average of 60+
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
I was lucky to watch from stands, his 181 runs inning against SL in Karachi (1987 World Cup). It was total destruction of bowling attack.
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
Not only he was a treat to watch, he was a very nice gentleman. A true ambassador of the game of cricket.
Imran Khan said, he had never been intimidated or impressed (in field during a match) by any batsman, except for Viv Richards. His body language and confidence was enough to nervous the bowlers.
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
I know the discussion here is about Viv's performance in the ODIs
However his statistical record in test cricket does not do justice to his immense talent. Although Viv's highest test score is 291, he perhaps lacked the same hunger for runs as his contemporaries. He was an entertainer and did not play for personal milestones. The hard work and dedication, the concentration and graft needed to play a long test innings was perhaps lacking at times and so he did not end up with a really great test record. Even in an era in which there were many great fast bowlers playing together and where there were only 4 other batsmen who averaged 50+ in tests (Miandad, Gavaskar, Greg Chappell and Border), someone that brilliant should have retired with a test average of 60 plus (or in the high 50s at least)
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
What
Where is my boy 
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
Viv is no wonder one of the greatest ODI player of all time
But
Wasim is very close to him 502 wickets is no fun at all!
Re: Viv Richards voted the greatest ODI player
503 is the cutoff