World Class Batsmen

                              World Class Batsmen

Sir Donald George Bradman, AC (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest Test batsman of all time.Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 is often cited as the greatest achievement by any sportsman in any major sport.

The story that the young Bradman practised alone with a cricket stump and a golf ball is part of Australian folklore. Bradman's meteoric rise from bush cricket to the Australian Test team took just over two years. Before his 22nd birthday, he had set many records for top scoring, some of which still stand, and became Australia's sporting idol at the height of the Great Depression.

Sachin Tendulkar ( born 24 April 1973) is a former Indian cricketer widely acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. He took up cricket at the age of eleven, made his Test debut against Pakistan at the age of sixteen, and went on to represent Mumbai domestically and India internationally for close to twenty-four years. He is the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in aOne Day International, the only player to complete more than 30,000runs in international cricket. and the 16th player and first Indian to aggregate 50,000 runs or more in all forms of domestic and international recognised cricket.

Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM (born 2 May 1969) is a former West Indian international cricket player. He is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest cricketers of all-time. He topped the Test battingrankings on several occasions and holds several cricketing records, including the record for the highest individual score in first-class cricket, with 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994, which is the only quintuple hundred in first-class cricket history.

Lara also holds the record for the highest individual score in a Test innings after scoring 400 not out against England at Antigua in 2004.He is the only batsman to have ever scored a hundred, a double century, a triple century, a quadruple century and a quintuple century in first class games over the course of a senior career. Lara also holds the test record of scoring the highest number of runs in a single over in a Test match, when he scored 28 runs off an over by Robin Peterson of South Africa in 2003.

Ricky Thomas Ponting, AO (born 19 December 1974), nicknamedPunter, is an Australian former cricketer who was captain of theAustralia national cricket team during its 'golden era'; between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very occasional bowler. He is the only Australian test captain to have led his side to three separate Ashes series defeats, but led Australia to victory at the 2003 and 2007 cricket world cups and was also a member of the 1999 world cup winning team under Steve Waugh.

Adam Craig Gilchrist, AM (born 14 November 1971), nicknamed "Gilly" or "Churchy", is a former Australian cricketer and one of the most explosive batsmen in world cricket. He was the captain of Australia, and Middlesex. He is an attacking left-handed batsmanand record-breaking wicket-keeper, who redefined the role for the Australia national cricket team through his aggressive batting. He is widely regarded as the greatest wicket-keeper–batsman in the history of the game. He holds the world record for the most dismissals by a wicket-keeper in One Day International (ODI) cricket and the most by an Australian in Test cricket. His strike rate is amongst the highest in the history of both ODI and Test cricket; his century against England at Perth in December 2006 is the third-fastest century in all Test cricket. He is the only player to have hit 100 sixes in Test cricket. His 17 Test and 16 ODI centuries are the most by a wicket-keeper. He holds the unique record of scoring at least 50 runs in successive World Cup finals (in 1999, 2003 and 2007) and is one of only three players to have won three titles.

Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara  (born 27 October 1977) is a Sri Lankan international cricketer and a former captain of the Sri Lankan national team, widely regarded as one of the greatest batsman in the world of cricket. A left-handed top-orderbatsman, for much of his career he also played as a wicket-keeper, although he no longer keeps wicket at Test level.

Along with AB de Villiers, he dominated the number one spot in the ICC Test batting rankings between 2005 and 2014. As of August 2014, Kumar Sangakkara is placed at number 1 in ICC test rankings.

Sangakkara was a key member of the team that won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 and was part of the team that made the final of 2007 Cricket World Cup, 2011 Cricket World Cup, 2009 ICC World Twenty20and 2012 ICC World Twenty20. He won man of the match award in 2014 ICC World Twenty20 finals, where helped the team for their first twenty20 title.

Yuvraj Singh  (born 12 December 1981) is an Indian international cricketer. He is an all-rounder who bats left-handed in the middle-order and bowls slow left-arm orthodox. He is the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi actor Yograj Singh. Yuvraj has been a member of the Indian cricket team in ODIs since 2000 and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice-captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008. He was the Man of the Tournament in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, and one of the top performers at the2007 ICC World Twenty20, both of which India won. In a match againstEngland at the 2007 World Twenty20, he famously hit six sixes in one over bowled by Stuart Broad — a feat performed only three times previously in any form of senior cricket, and never in an international match between two Test cricket teams.

Brendon Barrie McCullum (born 27 September 1981) is a New Zealand international cricketer and is the current captain in all three forms of the international game. He plays for the Otago Volts at provincial level, he played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League, having also spent one year with Kochi Tuskers Kerala. McCullum was a wicket-keeper until 2013, and is an aggressive batsman who opens in One-day Internationals and is known for his fast scoring rate. He currently plays for Chennai SuperKings in the IPL.

His brother Nathan McCullum is also a first-class and international cricketer, and their father Stuart McCullum was a long-serving first-class player for Otago. Both Brendon and Nathan attended King's High School.

McCullum is the leading career scorer in Twenty20 International cricket and is the first and so far only player to have scored two Twenty20 International centuries and 2000 runs in T20 Internationals. He was the previous record holder for the highest individual score in aTwenty20 International (123 against Bangladesh in 2012) and highest individual score in all Twenty20 cricket (158 not out for the Kolkata Knight Riders against Bangalore Royal Challengers in 2008).

On 18 February 2014, McCullum scored 302 runs against India making him the first New Zealand cricketer to score a triple hundred in Test cricket.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni  commonly known as M. S. Dhoni; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian cricketer and the currentcaptain of the Indian national cricket team. He is an attacking right-handed middle-order batsman and wicket-keeper. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest finishers in limited-overs cricket. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut in December 2004 againstBangladesh, and played his first Test a year later against Sri Lanka.

Sir Don Bradman