Top 5 best batters to have played for West Indies

Overview

• Chris Gayle is arguably the greatest All-format batter ever produced by the West Indies and is particularly great in T20Is 
• Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards from the 1970s and 1980s had a brilliant record in Tests and ODIs in Red Ball cricket
• Garry Sobers even as a pure batter and Brian Lara in Tests and ODIs had a brilliant record for the West Indies

The West Indies Cricket Team is one of the finest teams to have ever played the Gentleman's Sport. Right from the pre World War II era, the team produced to legends, spanning different eras and formats. From George Headley before war to the 3 Ws (Everton Weekes, Clyde Walcott, and Frank Worrell), the West Indies had legends early into their international cricket exposure.

What followed was the production of a series of great batters for more than three decades, which saw the rise of Garry Sobers, Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai, Gordon Greenidge, Viv Richards, Roy Fredericks, Desmond Haynes, Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, and so on. Given how many legends the West Indies has produced, it's not easy to determine its list of greatest batters.

Also Read: Major highlights of India's Test squad for series against West Indies

Top 5 best batters to have played for West Indies

Gordon Greenidge 

Gordon Greenidge had a great career in both Tests and ODIs. The former opener scored 7558 runs in 108 Tests at an average of 44.7. The West Indian batter also amassed 5134 runs in 128 ODIs at an average of 45 and a strike rate of 64.9. He was a part of the West Indian team that won the 1979 World Cup.

Chris Gayle

Chris Gayle is one of the greatest All-format batters of all time. In Tests, the Southpaw scored 7214 runs in 103 matches at an average of 42.2. In ODIs, Gayle scored 10480 runs in 301 matches at an average of 37.8 and a strike rate of 87.2. In T20Is, Gayle had 1899 runs in 79 matches at an average of 27.9 and a strike rate of 137.5. He played a key role in the West Indies the T20 World Cup in 2012 and 2016, respectively.

Also Check: Records and milestones achieved by Shubman Gill in his 129 against the West Indies

Garry Sobers

Garry Sobers mostly played in Tests for the West Indies. In the longest format of the game, the veteran amassed 8032 runs in 93 Tests at an average of 57.8. His record in First Class Cricket was brilliant too, where he scored 28314 runs at an average of 54. Sobers played a solitary ODI when he was well past his prime.

Brian Lara

Brian Lara is amongst the greatest batters to have ever played the sport. The Southpaw scored 11953 runs in 131 matches at an average of 52.9. In the 50-over format, Lara scored 10405 runs in 299 matches at an average of 40.5 at a strike rate of 79.5. He played a key role in the West Indies' win in the Champions Trophy 2004.

Read More: West Indies record second-lowest total in Test history in Pink-Ball debut against Australia

Viv Richards

Viv Richards is arguably the greatest batter the sport has ever produced. He has an insane resume in both Tests and ODIs. The aggressive batter amassed 8540 runs in 121 matches at an average of 50.2 in Tests. He scored 6721 runs in 187 ODIs at an average of 47 at a strike rate of 90.2. Richards was a part of the West Indian team that won the World Cup in 1975 and 1979, respectively.