Ranking Test Cricket's Top 10 Batsmen on Strike Rate

Test cricket's crowds may be shrinking but batting strike rates are rising, as we've seen firsthand over England's action-packed summer with sides regularly scoring at four runs per over.

Whether this is due to the onset of Twenty20 cricket, the increasing size of bats, players getting fitter and stronger or some other reason, it has, for the most part, made the sport's longest format more exciting.

But which batsmen have been most successful in scoring quickly?

Fortunately, we can precisely measure this attribute due to the strike rate statistic—which is the average amount of runs a player scores per 100 balls he has faced.

With that in mind, here are the top ten players with the best overall strike rate in Test cricket—ranked in ascending order and based on any* player who has score more than 2,000 runs in Test cricket.

*Please note the amount of balls faced by a batsman was only recorded from the 1970s onward so it hasn't been possible to include players from prior eras in this exercise.

10. Andrew Flintoff

TOM HEVEZI/Associated Press

Innings: 130

Runs: 3,845

Average: 31.77

Strike rate: 62.04

As one the most entertaining bowlers in the game, when Andrew Flintoff walked out to bat, spectators would desert the bars in order to watch the more-often-than-not ensuing carnage.

And with his monstrous straight hitting and ultra-aggressive approach, Freddie delivered the goods regularly, especially during his golden period between 2003 and 2006.

By the time his career was curtailed through injury, Flintoff blasted five centuries and remains one of the few players to average hitting more than one six per Test he played.

9. Brendon McCullum

Jon Super/Associated Press

Innings: 163

Runs: 6,008

Average: 38.76

Strike rate: 63.06

Given his ferocious approach to batting, many cricket fans would have presumed that Brendon McCullum would have actually placed higher in this list than ninth.

However, while the Kiwi skipper goes for broke from the opening ball in limited-overs cricket, he is also capable of playing "properly" when the situation demands in Test matches.

That said, as Pakistan found out in November, he is still capable of going ballistic if the circumstances are right, no matter what colour the ball.

8. Kamran Akmal

AMAN SHARMA/Associated Press

Innings: 92

Runs: 2,648

Average: 30.79

Strike rate: 63.10

While it is fair to say his reputation behind the stumps is mixed—who can forget his nightmarish game in Sydney—there is little doubting Kamran Akmal's ability to score rapidly with the bat in hand.

The wicketkeeper-batsman (or should that be batsman-wicketkeeper?), was at his best in white-ball cricket but still managed to record six Test tons including a memorable unbeaten 158 against Sri Lanka.

Boasting an aggressive attitude, a photogenic array of drives and a dismissive approach to playing spin, Akmal could score as quickly as anyone during his pomp.

7. Harbhajan Singh

PAUL ELLIS/Getty Images

Innings: 145

Runs: 2,224

Average: 18.22

Strike rate: 64.80

Hands up if you predicted that Harbhajan Singh, India's long-serving offspinner who has 417 Test wickets to his name, would make this list?

While many tail-enders try and put bat on ball, few manage to do it as consistently as the 35-year-old veteran who has recorded two centuries and nine 50s at the highest level.

And, having been recalled to his country's Test team in June after a period out of favour, Singh might be able to add a few more lusty innings to his portfolio before he hangs up his pads.

6. Sanath Jayasuriya

ERANGA JAYAWARDENA/Associated Press

Innings: 188

Runs: 6,973

Average: 40.07

Strike rate: 65.27*

Exploding on to the scene during the 1996 World Cup, Sanath Jayasuriya's brutal approach to batting made the pinch hitting role a necessity rather than a novelty in limited-overs cricket.

And, despite being most effective in the white-ball formats, as evidenced by his statistics, the Sri Lankan left-hander successfully brought the same aggressive ethos to the Test arena.

While he milked anything on his pads, woe betide the bowler who dared to offer any Jayasuriya any width on which to unleash one of the most powerful cut shots the game has ever seen.

*Jayasuriya's strike rate is taken from cricketweb.net

5. Tillakaratne Dilshan

LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/Getty Images

Innings: 145

Runs: 5,492

Average: 40.98

Strike rate: 65.54

Following in the footsteps of Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan is another adventurous and attack-minded presence at the top of the Sri Lankan batting order.

In fact, the 38-year-old opened for his country across all three formats—something of a rarity—where his unorthodox range of strokes has made him one of the most difficult batsmen in the world to bowl at.

While his Test career, which delivered 16 centuries and nearly 5,500 runs, appears to be finished, the "Dil-scoop" is still a regular presence on the limited-overs scene.

4. Stuart Broad

Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Innings: 118

Runs: 2,408

Average: 23.15

Strike rate: 67.09

Perhaps the most surprising entry into this list is Stuart Broad, whose primary job on the cricket field is taking wickets—as evidenced by his stunning eight-wicket haul against Australia at Trent Bridge.

While starting his career as a bowling all-rounder, the Nottinghamshire star's skills with the bat gradually increased, culminating in a huge century against Pakistan—before he lost confidence after being stuck on the head by India's Varun Aaron.

However, throughout these ups and downs, Broad has continued to bat positively and, despite a decreasing volume of runs, remains a sweet timer of the ball.

3. David Warner

Mitchell Gunn/Getty Images

Innings: 80

Runs: 3,564

Average: 46.28

Strike rate: 74.65

David Warner began life as a simplistic blaster who excelled in the white-ball formats and seemed destined to dine-out on the world's Twenty20 leagues.

However, the powerful left-hander has managed to successfully adapt his game to Test cricket and is one of the pre-eminent openers currently plying his trade.

While remaining a controversial presence off the pitch, on the field of play, if the opposition fail to collect Warner's scalp early, then the scoreboard operator can expect to be in for a very busy shift.

2. Adam Gilchrist

PRAKASH SINGH/Getty Images

Innings: 137

Runs: 5,570

Average: 47.60

Strike rate: 81.95

Once upon a time, wicketkeepers were essentially specialist fielders whose contribution to the team was predominantly made behind the stumps.

By the time Adam Gilchrist's career had finished, they were expected to not only be able to bat, but to play sensational, high-scoring, match-winning innings!

The bombastic left-hander's fearless approach down the order would often change games for Australia, turning sub-par scores into average ones and decent totals into huge totals.

Additionally, as well as maintaining a fearsome strike rate over his long career, the Western Australian also registered 17 centuries and currently owns the record for most sixes hit in Test cricket with 100.

1. Virender Sehwag

Rajanish Kakade/Associated Press

Innings: 180

Runs: 8,586

Average: 49.34

Strike rate: 82.23

Whether the match is scheduled to last five days or just 40 overs, throughout his career, Virender Sehwag has always brought the same simplistic but brutally effective see-ball, hit-ball approach to his innings, which sees him sit at No. 1 on this list.

Even in Test matches, where crease occupation and leaving the ball remain staple techniques, the Indian opener manages to average more than most people do in the free-scoring ODI format.

But perhaps the most amazing thing is how the 36-year-old managed to maintain this electric strike rate—basically scoring 82 runs off every 17 overs faced—over the course of a 12-year, 180-Test career.

Capable of playing shots all-round the wicket at any time, and against any bowler, Sehwag is arguably the most dangerous batsman to have ever played Test cricket.

*All statistics correct at time of writing and courtesy of ESPNCricInfo.com