Yearender 2014: Top 10 ODI batsmen

The year 2014 was a good year for cricket all around. There were some tight finishes, some sensational spells, and some tremendous innings. Shiamak Unwalla picks out 10 of the most successful batsmen in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) this year.

NOTE: These are not necessarily the highest run-scorers of the year, but the batsmen who made the most impact on their team’s performances in terms of average, strike rate, runs made, and manner in which they were scored.

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1. Kumar Sangakkara: The Sri Lankan wizard was in typically good form, and ended up as the leading run-scorer of the year with 1256 runs at an average of 46.51 and a strike rate of 87.70 with four tons and eight fifties. His innings of 103 in the Asia Cup 2014 against India ensured a Sri Lankan victory, and was instrumental in their march to the trophy. He then scored a match-winning 112 at Lord’s that helped the Lankans hold off Jos Buttler‘s surge toward the end of the match. He ended the year with a sequence of 67 not out, 63, 86, 91, 112, and 33 against England.

2. Angelo Mathews: Like Sangakkara, Sri Lanka’s captain too had a phenomenal year in ODIs. He proved to be the most difficult batsman for the opposition to dismiss, remaining unbeaten in 11 of the 31 innings he batted. With 1244 runs, he was just 12 runs shy of ending the year as the leading ODI run-scorer, though his average of 62.20 was significantly higher than Sangakkara’s. His nine fifties were more than anyone else in 2014. He had a tremendous series against India at the end of the year, offering the hosts some stiff resistance even as the rest of his batsmen failed around him. He scored his maiden ODI ton — 139 not out — in the fifth and final match of that series, but was eclipsed by the next man on the list.

3. Virat Kohli: It is virtually impossible for Kohli not to feature in any list of best ODI batsmen. Kohli finished with 1054 runs in 20 innings at an average of 58.55 and a strike rate of 99.62 with four hundreds and five half-centuries. His first and last innings of the year were both hundreds: 123 against New Zealand at Napier, and 139 not out against Sri Lanka at Ranchi. The latter was also as India’s ODI captain. Despite a prolonged run of poor form in England, Kohli managed to emerge as the third-highest run-scorer of the year. Unsurprisingly, he was India’s best batsman of the year.

4. Hashim Amla: No one scored more centuries in ODIs than Amla. He started the year with three centuries in four matches — two against Sri Lanka and one against Zimbabwe — before scoring two more Down Under against New Zealand and Australia. Amazingly, despite averaging 52.47, Amla actually had a bad year; given that his overall career average is 53.18! He was still comfortably one of the best batsmen of the year.

5. AB de Villiers: AB de Villiers did what AB de Villiers always does; he thrilled, he enamoured, and he scored a truckload of quick runs at a mind-numbing average. The numbers tell the tale of what was another outstanding year for de Villiers. He scored 879 runs at 73.25 with a strike rate of 114.45 with two centuries and six fifties. He batted at a strike rate of less than 100 in only five out of his 16 innings.

6. Joe Root: The England batsman is fast staking claim for being one of the leading batsmen in world cricket. Apart from enjoying a phenomenal year in Tests where he averages over 90, Root also enjoyed a good year in ODIs. An average of 43.60 and three centuries means that he has had the best year by an English batsman for a long time. The only worrying aspect is his sub-par strike rate of 78.34.

7. Faf du Plessis: Faf du Plessis really came into his own in ODIs in 2014. He amassed 790 runs including a run of 59, 55, 40, 106, 15, 126, 121, and 96 at the start of the year. He lost a bit of steam after that, but the phase was good enough to earn him a spot as one of the top ODI batsmen of the year. He averaged 52.66 in 2014, which is a massive leap from his career average of 34.40.

8. Aaron Finch: Finch was another man who showed some significantly higher consistency compared to his previous few years. He thrashed four ODI tons, along with three fifties. The big hundreds are yet to come in ODIs, but he played an innings of 181 not out for MCC against Rest of the World XI in the Lord’s Bicentennial match to showcase his capabilities. He ended up with 790 runs at 43.88 and a strike rate of 84.04.

9. Kane Williamson: Two Kiwis bring up the rear on the list. Williamson — yet another batsman to feature among the top 10 batsmen of the year in both Tests and ODIs — enjoyed a phenomenal average of 70 despite remaining not out only once! He hit seven fifties and a ton in 12 innings. Out of the four innings he didn’t cross 50, he scored 47 and 46 in two of them. That he did so at a strike rate of 87.10 just proves his class.

10. Ross Taylor: Taylor enjoyed a tremendous start of the year, when he made scores of 55, 57, 17, 112 not out, and 102. He then scored 105 not out and 88 not out to end the year. Taylor scored 662 runs at an average of 66.20 at a strike rate of 88.14 with three centuries and as many fifties.

(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek and cricket fanatic. You can follow him on Twitter @ShiamakUnwalla)