Australia’s 25 greatest one-day stars: Adam Gilchrist takes top spot
TO celebrate the start of the international summer of cricket, we’ve ranked Australia’s greatest ODI players. But who lands where? Can Punter trump Warnie? And what of Michael Bevan …
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WITH a record five World Cups to their name, there’s no more dominant one-day nation than Australia.
Even if their current world ranking of sixth doesn’t properly reflect it, this is a country with a proud ODI history — and fistfuls of short-form stars since Ian Chappell steered Australia to a five-wicket victory over England with a patient 103-ball 60 in the first ever one-day international in 1971.
So you’d imagine narrowing down the 226 players who have represented Australia in ODIs to a top 25 would be difficult — let alone settling on a clear-cut No.1.
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As it turns out, when putting this list together in consultation with News Corp’s esteemed cricket writers, picking the top dog was actually quite straightforward.
Adam Gilchrist was such a gamebreaking superstar who revolutionised and transcended the sport that, even allowing for the incredible feats of all-time leading runscorer Ricky Ponting and the tag-team bowling spearheads Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, he stood alone at the top.
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It wasn’t until the list snaked its way down to double figures that things really started to get tricky.
How can Dennis Lillee — one of Australia’s greatest ever cricketers, finest fast bowlers and driving forces behind the one-day cricket revolution — not find his way into the top 10?
It was as difficult a decision as any in the top 25 — including the hardluck stories of David Boon, Aaron Finch and Ryan Harris, who missed out on selection altogether.
But with just 63 matches to his name, it was impossible to justify picking Lillee ahead of, say, tearaway Brett Lee and his record 380 scalps — or the modern day batting pioneer Dean Jones.
And that’s how the all-time great slipped outside the top 10.
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