Cricket World Cup 2015: Ranking the Top 15 Batsmen of Group Stage so Far
With just over half of the 2015 Cricket World Cup group-stage fixtures completed, it's time to take a look at the top performing batsmen.
The early part of the competition has been dominated by the bat, with 17 centuries scored in the first 23 matches.
The upper echelon of the run-scoring table features many of the usual suspects, including AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum. There are a few surprises, though, with some lesser lights flying the flag for the associate countries.
The fixture schedule and the only washout of the tournament mean that no Australians have made the cut.
Read on to see who has made the fine 15.
Statistics come courtesy of ESPNcricinfo.
Ranking Criteria
1 of 17
The top 15 is based solely on the number of runs scored. No extra weighting has been given to the quality of the opposition or the state of the game.
In this instance, the scorecard is king and all that counts.
The figures are tallied up to and including the Pakistan vs. Zimbabwe match on Sunday 1 March.
Honourable Mentions
2 of 17
Despite playing the most nerveless innings of the tournament against Australia, New Zealand's Kane Williamson just misses out.
As does JP Duminy. The South African was forced to sit out his side's two most recent games through injury. Fellow centurions Aaron Finch, Lendl Simmons and Mahela Jayawardene are also bubbling just under the top 15.
Misbah-ul-Haq has been his usual methodical self but is also out of the frame.
Despite their impressive start to the competition, Irishmen are also absent from the rankings. That's largely down to the fixture computer. The Irish are the only side to have played just two matches to date.
15. Moeen Ali and Joe Root (England)
3 of 17
Matches: Both four
Runs: Both 173
Average: Both 43.25
Strike Rate: Moeen 107.45, Root 89.63
The England hierarchy always seem to be “looking for the positives” no matter how badly they have been beaten. They'll do well to find many after this sorry World Cup.
The bowling has been catastrophically bad, and the batting hasn't been much better. Joe Root and Moeen Ali have scored centuries but have been inconsistent.
It looks like England will be in rebuilding mode once this tournament is over. They could do worse than making this pair the fulcrum of a new-look side.
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14. Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe)
4 of 17
Matches: Four
Runs: 174
Average: 43.50
Strike Rate: 85.29
It's been a frustrating World Cup for Brendan Taylor. The Zimbabwean skipper has got a start in all four of his innings, passing 37 every time. His top score is just 50, though.
Consistent yes, but it's not quite been good enough to get his side home against the big boys.
Zimbabwe appear to have some talent, and the future looks slightly brighter than many pre-World Cup pundits suggested.
13. Samiullah Shenwari (Afghanistan)
5 of 17
Matches: Three
Runs: 176
Average: 58.66
Strike Rate: 60.27
Afghanistan have already enjoyed a memorable World Cup thanks to their maiden win over Scotland. The pick of their performers has been Samiullah Shenwari.
The 28-year-old gave notice of his talents with knocks of 42 and 38 against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, respectively.
He followed those cameos with a man-of-the-match performance against the Scots. Shenwari's 96 got the Afghans within range before Hamid Hassan and Shapoor Zadran got the tournament rookies home by one wicket.
12. David Miller (South Africa)
6 of 17
Matches: Three
Runs: 180
Average: 90
Strike Rate: 137.40
South Africa avoided a potential surprise at the hands of Zimbabwe in their World Cup opener thanks largely to the efforts of David Miller.
The 25-year-old scored a career-best 138 not out from just 92 balls while compiling a record stand of 256 for the fifth wicket with JP Duminy.
After a steady start, Miller exploded in the second half of his innings, taking just 37 balls to score his final 88 runs. A single over brought a mammoth 30 runs.
Cameos followed against India and the West Indies. Only AB de Villiers has scored more runs for the dangerous South Africans than Miller, whose strike rate of 137.40 is among the best in the competition.
11. Virat Kohli (India)
7 of 17
Matches: Three
Runs: 186
Average: 93.00
Strike Rate: 81.93
In his six innings immediately prior to the World Cup, Virat Kohli scored just 47 runs. India's new Test captain quickly banished any worries about his form, recording his 22nd ODI century against archrivals Pakistan.
Those 22 hundreds have come from just 145 innings. To see just how incredible that stat is, consider that Chris Gayle's 22 ODI centuries have taken 262 innings.
Kohli continued his impressive start to the World Cup with decent efforts against South Africa and the UAE. Surprisingly, he is the only batsman in the top 15 who hasn't hit a six in this year's World Cup.
The stage is set for him to become India's next global batting superstar.
10. Marlon Samuels (West Indies)
8 of 17
Matches: Four
Runs: 192
Average: 64.00
Strike Rate: 74.41
The first of two West Indians in the top-15 World Cup scorers is Marlon Samuels. The Jamaican got off to a slow start, scoring a pedestrian 21 from 41 balls in his side's shock loss to Ireland.
It was a similar story against Pakistan, where his 38 came from 52 deliveries. Even his century against Zimbabwe was a somewhat scratchy affair. He took 143 balls to reach three figures before cutting loose at the death, eventually ending up with 133 from 156.
That late acceleration didn't carry on into the West Indies' match against South Africa, in which Samuels was dismissed without scoring after nine balls.
The 34-year-old hasn't been helped by his top-order colleagues. He's come to the wicket with the score at 12 and nought when batting at No. 3 and 28 and 32 when coming in at No. 4.
9. Sean Williams (Zimbabwe)
9 of 17
Matches: 4
Runs: 193
Average: 64.33
Strike Rate: 112.86
Like his compatriot Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams has enjoyed a solid, if frustrating, World Cup.
The 28-year-old's unbeaten 76 secured victory against the UAE. He also made steady contributions of 76 against the West Indies and 33 against Pakistan.
Despite promising starts, he couldn't quite produce the biggie that would have given Zimbabwe a shock win over Test opponents.
8. Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
10 of 17
Matches: Four
Runs: 207
Average: 51.75
Strike Rate: 188.18
He may not have scored a century yet, but few players have had a greater impact on the 2015 World Cup than Brendon McCullum.
The New Zealand opener has passed 50 three times so far, his only failure coming against Scotland.
As Steven Finn and Mitchell Johnson can attest, when McCullum is on song, he's as dangerous as AB de Villiers. Nobody has a strike rate anywhere near the Kiwi skipper's 188.18.
If he continues to shine at the top of the order, New Zealand have a great chance to go all the way.
7. Shaiman Anwar (United Arab Emirates)
11 of 17
Matches: Three
Runs: 208
Average: 69.33
Strike Rate: 114.28
Few would have expected a player from the United Arab Emirates to feature in the top-15 scorers of the World Cup at this stage of the competition. Shaiman Anwar followed up a promising 67 against Zimbabwe with a superb century against Ireland.
His side has impressed at times but hasn't quite managed to get past the winning post. Anwar's good form and brisk strike rate will give them a chance in their remaining matches against Pakistan, the West Indies and, to a lesser extent, against South Africa.
6. AB de Villiers (South Africa)
12 of 17
Matches: Three
Runs: 217
Average: 108.50
Strike Rate: 155.00
The ICC Player Rankings sometimes produce the odd anomaly, but there's no doubting their accuracy at the moment with AB de Villiers sitting at the top spot.
Poor Jason Holder must break out in a cold sweat at the mere mention of his name. After smashing a world-record century against the West Indies in Johannesburg in January, the South African skipper delivered an equally impressive encore in Sydney. His 162 from just 66 balls was arguably the greatest innings in World Cup history.
".@ABdeVilliers17 has enjoyed batting against the West Indies recently... #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/DBEbHtFwMO
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) February 27, 2015"
Bob Willis raised eyebrows before the tournament when he suggested that De Villiers was the greatest batsman ever. Speaking on The Verdict on Sky Sports (via SkySports.com), Willis said:
"I've been saying for the last 30 years that Viv Richards has to be the best batsman of all time—even better than Sir Don Bradman in my book—but I'm going to have to reassess because this guy is something extraordinary.
"
On current form, it's hard to disagree with the former England skipper's assessment.
Any side that wants to go far in this competition will have to find a way to stop De Villiers.
5. Shikhar Dhawan (India)
13 of 17
Matches: Three
Runs: 224
Average: 74.66
Strike Rate: 93.72
After a torrid time in the pre-World Cup Tri Series, serious question marks were raised about Shikhar Dhawan's position at the top of the Indian order. Could he play the moving ball? Could he cope with the bouncy pitches?
The 29-year-old has answered his critics in fine style. After an impressive 73 against Pakistan, Dhawan found the vaunted South African attack much to his liking. His 137 from 146 balls was crucial in India's convincing win.
Dhawan has credited his colleagues and especially coach Ravi Shastri with his recent upturn in form. He told The Hindu:
"He’s always given me lots of confidence and positivity, especially when I needed it. My team has stood by me really strongly and I’m really thankful to my teammates and support staff. It’s because of that I’m scoring runs today.
"
If Dhawan can repay that faith, India could yet defend their title.
4. Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka)
14 of 17
Matches: Four
Runs: 229
Average: 76.33
Strike Rate: 94.23
One of the oldest men at the World Cup he may be, but Tillakaratne Dilshan shows no sign of slowing down.
The 38-year-old turned back the clock against Bangladesh, scoring an unbeaten 161 from just 146 balls, then followed it up with 44 against England.
Throw in his canny spin bowling, and he remains a crucial part of Sri Lanka's team.
“All the time we're having fun in the middle,” the veteran Dilshan told Reuters (via the Daily Mail) “I think we are really enjoying it so far as the seniors. We're looking forward to keep doing these things throughout the series."
3. Lahiru Thirimanne (Sri Lanka)
15 of 17
Matches: Four
Runs: 256
Average: 85.33
Strike Rate: 90.78
Lahiru Thirimanne has been Mr. Consistency for Sri Lanka, passing 50 in three of his four visits to the middle at the 2015 World Cup. Most impressive was his career-best innings of 139 as Sri Lanka thrashed England by nine wickets.
The 25-year-old has floated up and down the order in his ODI career, batting in every position from No. 1. to No. 8. He now appears to have found his home as opener.
Sri Lanka went into the competition relying largely on the form of the “big four” of Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews.
Throw in Thirimanne's good run, and they'll be a dangerous proposition in the knockout stages.
2. Chris Gayle (West Indies)
16 of 17
Matches: Four
Runs: 258
Average: 64.50
Strike Rate: 112.17
Chris Gayle has secured his place in the World Cup pantheon thanks to his 215 against Zimbabwe. Packed full of huge straight hits, it was vintage Gayle. When in the mood, his clean-hitting style makes him one of the most entertaining batsmen in the game.
As former England opener Mark Butcher wrote in his column for Sky Sports: “There’s no better player to watch in full flight than Chris Gayle, simply because of the pure power of the man. He has an extraordinarily brutal way of hitting the ball, which renders bowlers powerless.”
The Jamaican's form in his other three visits to the middle has been sketchy. He managed just 36 against Ireland, four against Pakistan and three against South Africa.
Qualification for the quarter-finals is far from certain for the West Indies following their loss to Ireland.
If they're to pull off a shock against India, they will likely need more heroics from cricket's “Mr Cool."
"WATCH: Chris Gayle reaches his double hundred. Watch the action on Sky Sports World Cup #fireitup #cwc15 - http://t.co/DMTddkOJip
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) February 24, 2015"
1. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
17 of 17
Matches: Four
Runs: 268
Average: 134
Strike Rate: 125.82
Kumar Sangakkara's World Cup got off to a slow start. The 37-year-old managed just 39 against New Zealand and seven versus Afghanistan.
He celebrated winning his 400th ODI cap in the game against Bangladesh with his fastest one-day century and repeated the trick a game later.
England's hapless seamers were on the receiving end as Sangakkara smashed an unbeaten 117 from just 86 deliveries as Sri Lanka coasted home.
Speaking on Sky Sports' The Verdict (via SkySports.com), former England opener Michael Carberry was full of praise for the veteran left-hander. “I refer to him as the Aston Martin of batting. He’s got everything—grace, timing. He’s such a clever batsman.”
Sangakkara is the sole player with two centuries to his name in this year's competition so far. Only the brave (or foolish) would bet against him adding a third.
"HE's DONE IT! What an innings! The joint 5th Fastest World Cup Century of all-time!! http://t.co/IMcIm48CKi #ENGvSL pic.twitter.com/MFydewc2go
— ICC (@ICC) March 1, 2015"
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