16 Most elegant batsmen of all time

16 Most elegant batsmen of all time: Those sumptuous drives, the lovely cuts and the fabulous flicks. We have all shouted ‘Wow’ while watching them on the Television. In Cricket statistics is an important criteria and so is technical correctness, but there can be no more delightful sight than to see a batsman simply caress the bowling. If cricket is a game that has great romance then at the core of it are the stylists. What is it about these elegant batsmen that makes for them holding such a special place in our hearts? Why is Laxman so special? Why is Ian Bell so delightful to watch? Obviously all fine batsmen play excellent shots, but many play with such technical excellence that they are a joy to watch.

Here we bring to you an illustrious list the 16 Most elegant batsmen of all time:

1. Zaheer Abbas:

Watching him bat was like seeing a pianist tapping his notes or watching an artist make curves on a drawing board. He had a classical drive on either side of extra cover. Such was his run making ability that many named him the “Asian Bradman”. Making 274, in a spectacular display of batting against England at Edgbaston in 1971 he plundered the English bowlers all round the park. He continued to pile on the agony for England when he blasted 240 at the Oval in 1974. The key to Abbas’ supreme run-scoring ability was his timing. His subtle use of the wrists, combined with his ability to precisely pierce the gap, contributed to Zaheer’s batting.

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2. Gundappa Vishwanath:

Gundappa Viswanath was a true artist with the willow. Vishwanath resembled a musical composer when batting. He was equally adept against pace and spin – waiting on the ball against the pacers and using twinkling footwork against the spinners. He was a master of the square cut and had a unique half cut, half-drive shot. He also had a shot that was a combination of the flick, pull and the hook. His 97 not out at Chennai in 1974 is an all-time classic.

3. David Gower:

A left-hander with a strong top hand, Gower’s strokes had a liquid, graceful feel. Gower looked rather aloof and lazy while batting but executed his strokes effortlessly. He hardly moved his feet but he simply caressed the best of balls through the covers. He was more elegant than even Jack Hobbs or Len Hutton. Gower was at his best against Australia at home in 1985 compiling a home Ashes record aggregate of 732 runs. He played superbly on fast Australian tracks and also scored a big hundred against the West Indies at Kingston in 1981.

4. Graeme Pollock:

Pollock was perhaps the finest left-hand batsman the game has ever produced – Donald Bradman certainly thought so, categorizing only Garry Sobers as his equal among those he saw playing. Another player deprived of greater exposure by South Africa’s isolation, Pollock showed in his 23 Tests what an awesome talent he possessed. His highest score of 274 was for many years the South African Test record. Pollock was an extremely powerful batsman, although his timing was perhaps his most obvious natural asset. An absolute master in any conditions, he would tear the best of bowling attacks apart with the grace of an artist.

5. Mohammad Azharuddin:

The closest to Zaheer Abbas in the modern era when it comes to grace is Azharuddin. If Sourav Ganguly was the god of the off side he was the one for the other half. He could whip the best of balls on the leg-side. His 120 against England off 94 balls in 1990 was a classic and he was also effective in Australia on bouncy tracks. On slow wickets he was a genius who handled the likes of the best of bowlers like Allan Donald and Wasim Akram with ease. Azhar was certainly a sketch artist in the midst of house-painters.

6. Brian Lara:

A magician, an entertainer, and a true match-winner – Brian Charles Lara, like a masterful actor, slipped into several roles with effortless ease. Lara will forever be remembered as one of the greatest batsmen of the modern era, alongside the elite company of Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis. Armed with a high backlift, generating that typical Caribbean flourish, Lara was equally efficient against spin and pace. His batting was like hearing the ‘song of Lara’. He had the most elegant whip shot and cover drive in cricket. He possessed infinite imagination finding the gap everywhere and penetrating through the most secure of fields.

7. Martin Crowe:

Perhaps the best ever batsman to emerge from the Kiwi soil, Martin Crowe broke several batting records. With 456 runs at an average of 114, he was the best batsman of the 1992 world cup as he led New Zealand to the semi-finals. Crowe reminded you of Greg Chappell. He had an unmatched elegance which he combined with an immaculate technique. He scored centuries against the great West Indian attack and averaged around 45. He had every shot in the book which he executed like a ballad dancer performing his skill. Wasim Akram found him more difficult to bowl to than Lara or Tendulkar.

8. Ted Dexter:

He may not have had Colin Cowdrey’s technical ability or Peter May’s consistency but for sheer elegance Dexter was the best English batsman of his era. Often he would outperform Cowdrey and May on testing pitches against quality bowling. There was no more exhilarating sight in English cricket than Ted Dexter when he was savaging fast bowling. He mastered the West Indian quicks as well as the Australians. His 70 at Old Trafford against West Indies will never be forgotten. In county cricket, Dexter was the only batsman who dominated the great Derek Underwood, regularly scoring hundreds for Sussex against Kent.

 9. Greg Chappell:

Chappell, was probably the greatest batsman to ever play for Australia after Don Bradman. A champion in the ‘V’ area, he had a classical on drive and always played within the Arc. He was more elegant than most of the Australian batsmen who believed in power more than touch. He most effectively displayed his prowess in the 1972 Lord’s Test where he scored 131- one of the classics when it comes to Test match batting. He repeated his heroics with a 246 not out in Packer Cricket and his 182 not out against West Indies at Sydney in 1976. Even against Imran Khan and Michael Holding, the greatest pacers of that era, he displayed the most graceful touch.

10. VVS Laxman:

At his sublime best, VVS Laxman is a sight for the gods. Wristy, willowy and artistic, he could at times better even Tendulkar for strokeplay. Laxman has the rare gift of being able to hit the same ball to either side of the wicket. With the delicate touch of a surgeon, he bisects gaps that fielders never thought were there and creates angles that bowlers thought they had cut off. His name will forever be associated with his finest innings in Test cricket – a memorable 281 to revive India and complete a comeback victory against Steve Waugh’s Australians at the Eden Gardens in 2001.

11. Rohit Sharma:

Rohit Sharma oozes batting talent to the hilt. Blessed with a knack to find the gaps, and the extra half a second when he plays his shots, numbers tell the story of Rohit well. He averages over 50 in First-Class cricket and has scored an unbeaten triple hundred. However, for a player of his class, the first six years of his international career were frustrating. It all came together finally in 2013, when Rohit was promoted to open the innings in ODIs. The move turned out to be a masterstroke, as Rohit found form in the Champions Trophy, and then played brilliantly in the ODI series against Australia, scoring two centuries, including 209, only the third double ton in ODI cricket then. An year later, he became the first batsman to hit two ODI double-hundreds, in an innings where he smashed the record for the highest ODI score with 264 off 173 balls against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens.

12. Ian Bell:

Ian Bell has been one of England’s most prolific batsmen, in recent years. Few things can match the visual superiority of watching Bell unfurl a classic cover-drive. He is a technically sound batsman, who can bat with composure. What sets Bell apart from most of his counterparts is his near-perfect consistency and flawless technique in the longer format of the game. Once described by Dayle Hadlee as the best 16-year old he had ever seen, Ian Bell had been earmarked for greatness long before he was drafted onto the England tour of New Zealand in 2001-02.

13. Damien Martyn:

No contemporary cricketer, Tendulkar aside, made batting look so simple as Damien Martyn. Soon after his international debut Martyn blossomed into a relaxed and feathery artist. He will always be remembered for his elegant and classical style of batting. Martyn was one of the vital cogs in the Australian juggernaut at the start of the millennium. His presence in the middle order helped Australia fill the void left by the retirement of Mark Waugh and Australia benefited immensely from his services.

14. Kumar Sangakkara:

Kumar Sangakkara, an elegant stroke player, a reliable keeper, and an astute thinker, was the cornerstone of Sri Lankan cricket for close to 15 years. The cut and the pull came naturally to him and with growing confidence, he became a more assured front-foot player as well. His top-notch displays are reflected with the fact that he topped the ICC Test rankings towards the end of 2007, and was included in the ICC World ODI XI in 2005 and the World Test Team in 2006. After playing close to 500 international games for his country, the all-time great cricketer played his final game in the 2nd Test of the 3-match series against India at Colombo.

15. Mark Waugh:

If you had to describe Mark Waugh in just one word, then it has to be ‘Elegance’. Blessed with the most pleasing cover drive in the cricketing world, Mark Waugh’s batting was simply a sight to behold. Not only was he a gifted batsman, he was a canny medium pacer who switched to off-spin bowling due to injuries. Waugh was one of the greatest slip fielders that Australia had ever seen. His game was characterised by an ability to drive, cut, pull and loft the ball so effortlessly that it could make him look disrespectful of the bowler’s talent.

16. Mahela Jayawardene:

Mahela Jayawardene, a masterful technician oozing class, has been the lynchpin of the Sri Lankan batting line-up for the last decade and more. A prolific run-scorer, a shrewd thinker of the game and a sharp fielder, Jayawardene is one of the finest cricketers, the island nation has produced. His batting is a thing of beauty and a joy to watch. He became the first Sri Lankan batsman to reach 10,000 Test runs. A prolific, elegant and utterly classy batsman with a huge appetite for runs, Jayawardene was blessed with excellent hand-eye coordination and a fine technique. Among his favourite strokes were the cover-drives, which he played with minimal footwork but precise placement and timing and the wristy flick off his legs. The most memorable though were the cuts and dabs he played behind the stumps.

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