Best Finisher among recent players

[chamatkar]

I'd like to vote for none of the above... MSD is high in public opinion because of his recent heroics, but would I rate him "the best".. I don't think so... I've seen Vettori do it for NZ on occasion, C'paul for WI (when the top order does a little bit)...

[amits]

it has to be dhoni. dhoni is a proven match-winner. he has won us many odi matches from tough situations as well. either dhoni takes the responsibility himself by going for big shots or stays there at 1 end & lets the batsman at the other end do it

[diegovegaz]

dhoni and yuvraj are perhaps the best finishers in modern day cricket they have proven it time and again dhoni has a cool head, yuvi's aggressive strokes can bring the required runrate half the value what more do finishers have to do????

[varun]

If by finisher' date='the OP means someone who can propel his team's total to great heights in the final overs then Hussey is certainly up there. But when it comes to finishing games while chasing, I don't think Hussey has done anything spectacular.[/quote'] If one were to define a finisher as somebody who makes 25+ at the end and remains not out to ensure the team wins the match, here are the top finishers:

+----------------+-----+
| name           | num |
+----------------+-----+
| Inzamam-ul-Haq |  28 | 
| JH Kallis      |  25 | 
| A Ranatunga    |  22 | 
| M Azharuddin   |  22 | 
| BC Lara        |  20 | 
| DL Haynes      |  20 | 
| Yousuf Youhana |  19 | 
| SR Tendulkar   |  19 | 
| PA de Silva    |  18 | 
| MG Bevan       |  17 | 
| Saleem Malik   |  17 | 
| RT Ponting     |  17 | 
| SP Fleming     |  16 | 
| JN Rhodes      |  16 | 
| RB Richardson  |  16 | 
| IVA Richards   |  15 | 
| Yuvraj Singh   |  14 | 
| AR Border      |  14 | 
| MS Atapattu    |  14 | 
| SC Ganguly     |  14 | 
+----------------+-----+

And in this decade (2000's):

+------------------+-----+
| name             | num |
+------------------+-----+
| JH Kallis        |  21 | 
| Yousuf Youhana   |  17 | 
| Yuvraj Singh     |  14 | 
| Inzamam-ul-Haq   |  12 | 
| Abdul Razzaq     |  12 | 
| DPMD Jayawardene |  12 | 
| DR Martyn        |  12 | 
| RT Ponting       |  11 | 
| ML Hayden        |  11 | 
| R Dravid         |  11 | 
| MS Dhoni         |  10 | 
| HH Dippenaar     |  10 | 
| A Symonds        |  10 | 
| MS Atapattu      |   9 | 
| MV Boucher       |   9 | 
| A Flintoff       |   9 | 
| RR Sarwan        |   9 | 
| SP Fleming       |   9 | 
| CH Gayle         |   9 | 
| S Chanderpaul    |   9 | 
+------------------+-----+

[kumble_rocks]

Got to be Dhoni and Yuvraj a close second ....

[beetle]

RD and recently MSD.

[Gambit]

If one were to define a finisher as somebody who makes 25+ at the end and remains not out to ensure the team wins the match, here are the top finishers:

+----------------+-----+
| name           | num |
+----------------+-----+
| Inzamam-ul-Haq |  28 | 
| JH Kallis      |  25 | 
| A Ranatunga    |  22 | 
| M Azharuddin   |  22 | 
| BC Lara        |  20 | 
| DL Haynes      |  20 | 
| Yousuf Youhana |  19 | 
| SR Tendulkar   |  19 | 
| PA de Silva    |  18 | 
| MG Bevan       |  17 | 
| Saleem Malik   |  17 | 
| RT Ponting     |  17 | 
| SP Fleming     |  16 | 
| JN Rhodes      |  16 | 
| RB Richardson  |  16 | 
| IVA Richards   |  15 | 
| Yuvraj Singh   |  14 | 
| AR Border      |  14 | 
| MS Atapattu    |  14 | 
| SC Ganguly     |  14 | 
+----------------+-----+

And in this decade (2000's):

+------------------+-----+
| name             | num |
+------------------+-----+
| JH Kallis        |  21 | 
| Yousuf Youhana   |  17 | 
| Yuvraj Singh     |  14 | 
| Inzamam-ul-Haq   |  12 | 
| Abdul Razzaq     |  12 | 
| DPMD Jayawardene |  12 | 
| DR Martyn        |  12 | 
| RT Ponting       |  11 | 
| ML Hayden        |  11 | 
| R Dravid         |  11 | 
| MS Dhoni         |  10 | 
| HH Dippenaar     |  10 | 
| A Symonds        |  10 | 
| MS Atapattu      |   9 | 
| MV Boucher       |   9 | 
| A Flintoff       |   9 | 
| RR Sarwan        |   9 | 
| SP Fleming       |   9 | 
| CH Gayle         |   9 | 
| S Chanderpaul    |   9 | 
+------------------+-----+

Awesome stats varun!! SRT's got 19 which is an amazing number for an opener.

[Mr. Wicket]

Awesome stats varun!! SRT's got 19 which is an amazing number for an opener.

No, that just shows how much he plays for his average and bats for not-outs...

[chamatkar]

No' date=' that just shows how much he plays for his average and bats for not-outs...[/quote'] Umm.. that's a wrong conclusion.. he's not in the list of players in this decade (which is when he predominantly played as an opener)... He used to come lower down the order (3-6) in the 90s.

[Mr. Wicket]

chamatkar, don't take that seriously. Just a sarcastic side at a bunch on here who seem to believe SRT is a selfish player who only bats for his own average and makes remaining not out a greater priority than the team.

[coffee_rules]

Why is the criteria remaining not out important? In the last match Yuvraj was equally important for the finish as was Dhoni. I think you should look for somebody who makes 25+ and is not batting as an opener.

[Bumper]

I think the criteria could be 50+ n.o when batting first & 35+ n.o when chasing

[chamatkar]

Why is the criteria remaining not out important? In the last match Yuvraj was equally important for the finish as was Dhoni. I think you should look for somebody who makes 25+ and is not batting as an opener.

I agree.. Just to test Varun's database ... and his sql skills .... Criteria should be ... Batting in positions 4-8 for a majority (60%+) of their career... Score should be among top 3-4 in the batting lineup... Team's Win/Loss ratio should be greater than 1.5... Score can be 25+.... Makes sense?

[bharat297]

Why is the criteria remaining not out important? In the last match Yuvraj was equally important for the finish as was Dhoni. I think you should look for somebody who makes 25+ and is not batting as an opener.

Id say Dhoni's contribution was more important. Yuvraj's was important too, but Dhoni's was more.

[varun]

1. Batting in positions 4-8 for a majority (60%+) of their career... 2. Score should be among top 3-4 in the batting lineup... 3. Team's Win/Loss ratio should be greater than 1.5... 4. Score can be 25+....

What exactly do you want to query in the end ? It appears that there are too many dangling conditionals there which don't add up.

[Yuvraj4Captaincy]

Yuvraj Singh

[Yuvraj4Captaincy]

Why is the criteria remaining not out important? In the last match Yuvraj was equally important for the finish as was Dhoni. I think you should look for somebody who makes 25+ and is not batting as an opener.

agreed.

[The Outsider]

The way I look at a "finisher" is only in the second innings of an ODI. Not that the role of an opener or runs scored in the first innings are any less important, but it's easier to define a finisher in the context of the second innings of an ODI because the batsman actually finishes off the match. I like Varun's definition here the best, which can perhaps be augmented a bit by adding in a criteria that even though the batsman was dismissed towards the end, he left a very easy target for others to chase something like less than 20 runs required at the time of his dismissal with at least 4 wickets and 5 overs remaining. That is pretty much finishing the game for all practical purposes as well. For the Sri Lanka match, Yuvraj's innings can't be termed as a finishing innings, regardless how good it was. At the time of his dismissal we still needed 80+ runs and while it was a superb innings in the middle order it wasn't a finishing innings. Openers and top order batsmen will rarely play finishing innings. While chasing it has to be Dhoni, but if one were to include the first innings then Hussey and Collingwood would also be strong contenders.

[ediamondsrt]

Mark Boucher

[ranj]

Agarkar. The amount of times he's finished matches off with six consecutive hit-me balls is unsurpassed.