ODIs - Best Australian Opening Batsmen

Top 10 Australian Opening Batsmen In ODIs

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Our One Day International (ODI) ratings take into account all matches from the first ODI match on January 5, 1971 till the below mentioned last update date. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). Here are the Top 10 Australian opening batsmen in ODI Cricket of all time.

*Note: All ODI Ratings are updated till 2025-09-15

CONTENTS
1. THE CRITERIA
2. QUALIFICATION
3. PRIMARY CRITERIA
3.1. PROLIFIC
3.2. CONSISTENT
3.2.1. Against All Teams
3.2.2. Against Top Teams
3.3. ATTACKING
3.3.1. Against All Teams
3.3.2. Against Top Teams
3.4. BIG INNINGS POTENTIAL (NWT)
3.5. QUICK INNINGS POTENTIAL (NWT)
3.6. PRIMARY RATING
4. CONDITIONS CRITERIA
4.1. HOME/AWAY
4.1.1. At Home
4.1.2. Away From Home
4.2. FAMILIAR/UNFAMILIAR CONDITIONS
4.2.1. Familiar Conditions Rating
4.2.1.1. Non Asians Outside Asia
4.2.2. Unfamiliar Conditions Rating
4.2.2.1. Non Asians In Asia
4.3. CONDITIONS RATING
5. SECONDARY CRITERIA
5.1. WORLD CUP
5.2. IMPACT INNINGS
5.3. TOP FORM
5.4. SECONDARY RATING
6. OVERALL RATING
7. NON WEAK TEAMS
8. TOP TEAMS
Nations Filter

This rating filters the OVERALL Rating to show players only from Australia.

  • The Rating of the players from Australia remains the same as in the original OVERALL Rating.
  • Thus the Trend Setter can be from any nation and is not necessarily from Australia.
Position Filter

This rating filters the OVERALL Rating to include performances of opening batsmen. Innings played only at the specified position are counted in this rating.

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA CONSTITUENTS
Primary Runs, Average, Strike Rate, Top Inns (Runs and SR)
Conditions Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary World Cup, Top Form, Impact Inns
The Trend Setter (TS)

TS is the player which does the best in a criteria. The rating of all other players are calculated taking the TS as the benchmark. Know All About TS. Here is an example:-

  • TS Runs: 2,000; Player X Runs: 1,000; Section Points: 250.00
  • TS Points: 250.00(Max); Player X Points: Runs/TS Runs X 250 = 1,000/2,000 X 250 = 125.00
  • Ratings of all sections are calculated similarly with Runs being replaced by the Criteria Stat.
TT and NWT

Some sections consider performances only against the top teams (TT) and non weak teams (NWT). Here is some information:-

  • Win/Loss Ratio is used to determine TT and NWT.
  • They are calculated by decades.
  • A batsman's performace is counted in TT or NWT if it comes against that team in the specific decade.
  • Knock Out and Super Six matches of ODI World Cup are also counted.
  • TT and NWT may be found in the last section.

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings (TT) 30
Min Overall Runs 1000

PRIMARY CRITERIA

The Primary Rating is divided into 5 main sections:-

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Runs Scored 200.00
Consistent Average 300.00
Attacking Strike Rate 300.00
Big Innings Potential Top Inns (Runs) 100.00
Quick Innings Potential Top Inns (SR) 100.00

PROLIFIC

The Eras

The time period of ODI cricket is divided into eras for this section. This is because less cricket was played earlier. To make it fair for earlier players they are compared with players of the same period with a slight reduction in points. Know More About Eras.

Era 1 MP before 1996
Era 2 MP between 1995 And 2011
Era 3 MP greater than 2010

Criteria: Points For Runs Scored

RANK ERA 1 NAT FP LP MP INNS RUNS RAT
TS DL Haynes WI 1978 1994 1986 237 8648 160.00
1 GR Marsh AUS 1986 1992 1989 115 4357 80.61
2 DC Boon AUS 1986 1995 1990.5 118 3995 73.91
3 GM Wood AUS 1978 1985 1981.5 68 2017 37.32
RANK ERA 2 NAT FP LP MP INNS RUNS RAT
TS SR Tendulkar IND 1994 2012 2003 340 15310 200.00
1 AC Gilchrist AUS 1998 2008 2003 259 9200 120.18
2 ML Hayden AUS 1993 2008 2000.5 147 5892 76.97
3 ME Waugh AUS 1993 2002 1997.5 141 5729 74.84
4 SR Watson AUS 2006 2013 2009.5 93 3883 50.73
RANK ERA 3 NAT FP LP MP INNS RUNS RAT
TS RG Sharma IND 2011 2025 2018 184 9138 160.00
1 DA Warner AUS 2009 2023 2016 157 6888 120.60
2 AJ Finch AUS 2013 2022 2017.5 140 5386 94.31
3 TM Head AUS 2017 2025 2021 43 2042 35.75

CONSISTENT

R Ave

Relative Average (R Ave) is a more accurate type of average. Know How It Is Calculated. Briefly, it takes into account:-

  • Strength of Opposition.
  • Positions at which a batsman has played.
  • Venues at which he has played.
  • Time Period in which he has been active

Criteria: Points For Relative Average

Min Qualification For TS
Min Runs 2500
Min Runs (TT) 2000

Against All Teams

RANK BATSMAN INNS NO RUNS 50s AVE R AVE RAT
TS S Gill 50 8 2509 14 59.74 57.35 150.00
1 TM Head 43 4 2042 10 52.36 51.64 135.07
2 ML Hayden 147 14 5892 33 44.30 44.92 117.50
3 ME Waugh 141 11 5729 32 44.07 44.91 117.47
4 SR Watson 93 7 3883 25 45.15 44.56 116.56
5 DA Warner 157 5 6888 33 45.32 44.47 116.32
6 GR Marsh 115 6 4357 22 39.97 41.94 109.70
7 AJ Finch 140 3 5386 30 39.31 38.54 100.80
8 AC Gilchrist 259 7 9200 53 36.51 37.10 97.05
9 GM Wood 68 8 2017 10 33.62 36.96 96.67
10 DC Boon 118 2 3995 24 34.44 36.34 95.05

Against Top Teams

RANK BATSMAN INNS NO RUNS 50s AVE R AVE RAT
TS RG Sharma 134 10 6848 30 55.23 53.53 150.00
1 TM Head 31 2 1474 8 50.83 51.17 143.39
2 ML Hayden 114 8 4596 24 43.36 45.07 126.29
3 GR Marsh 95 5 3693 17 41.03 43.86 122.89
4 SR Watson 63 6 2497 16 43.81 43.83 122.82
5 DA Warner 130 2 5496 26 42.94 42.31 118.55
6 AJ Finch 116 3 4703 26 41.62 41.12 115.24
7 ME Waugh 112 7 3920 21 37.33 38.44 107.72
8 GM Wood 58 7 1693 7 33.20 37.25 104.39
9 AC Gilchrist 204 4 7040 41 35.20 36.44 102.11
10 DC Boon 101 2 3291 19 33.24 35.66 99.91

ATTACKING

R SR

Relative Strike Rate (R SR) is calculated using the same method as R Ave with average being replaced with SR.

Criteria: Points For R SR

Min Qualification For TS
Min Runs 2500
Min Runs (TT) 2000
Min Average 25

Against All Teams

RANK BATSMAN RUNS BF SR R SR RAT
TS V Sehwag 7518 7169 104.87 102.03 150.00
1 TM Head 2042 1736 117.63 101.74 149.58
2 AC Gilchrist 9200 9385 98.03 98.35 144.59
3 DA Warner 6888 7090 97.15 86.89 127.75
4 SR Watson 3883 4234 91.71 85.48 125.67
5 ME Waugh 5729 7461 76.79 79.92 117.50
6 AJ Finch 5386 6141 87.71 78.59 115.54
7 ML Hayden 5892 7486 78.71 78.40 115.26
8 DC Boon 3995 6215 64.28 75.24 110.62
9 GM Wood 2017 3414 59.08 72.76 106.97
10 GR Marsh 4357 7799 55.87 65.60 96.45

Against Top Teams

RANK BATSMAN RUNS BF SR R SR RAT
TS V Sehwag 5601 5455 102.68 100.52 150.00
1 TM Head 1474 1254 117.54 102.39 150.00
2 AC Gilchrist 7040 7107 99.06 99.80 148.93
3 DA Warner 5496 5696 96.49 86.21 128.64
4 SR Watson 2497 2903 86.01 80.05 119.46
5 ML Hayden 4596 5851 78.55 78.55 117.22
6 AJ Finch 4703 5414 86.87 77.93 116.30
7 ME Waugh 3920 5259 74.54 77.80 116.11
8 DC Boon 3291 5175 63.59 74.84 111.68
9 GM Wood 1693 2890 58.58 72.92 108.81
10 GR Marsh 3693 6518 56.66 67.01 100.00

BIG INNINGS POTENTIAL (NWT)

Ave HS

In this criteria, we have taken the top 7 scores of the batsman against Non Weak Teams of all time. Average High Score (Ave HS) is simply the total runs in the 7 innings divided by 7.

Criteria: Points For Runs Scored In The Top 7 Inns

RANK ERA 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 AVE HS RAT
TS DL Haynes 152* 148 145* 142* 138* 133* 123* 140.14 100.00
1 GR Marsh 126* 125* 125 113 111* 110 106* 116.57 83.18
2 DC Boon 122 111 102* 100 100 93 87 102.14 72.88
3 GM Wood 114* 108 104* 98* 91 81 73 95.57 68.20
RANK ERA 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 AVE HS RAT
TS SR Tendulkar 200* 186* 175 163* 143 141* 141 164.14 100.00
1 ML Hayden 181* 158 146 126 117 114 111 136.14 82.94
2 SR Watson 185* 161* 136* 126 122 116* 105* 135.86 82.77
3 AC Gilchrist 154 149 131 128 124 122 121* 132.71 80.85
4 ME Waugh 173 133* 130 126 116 115* 112* 129.29 78.76
RANK ERA 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 AVE HS RAT
TS RG Sharma 264 209 208* 171* 162 159 152* 189.29 100.00
1 DA Warner 179 173 166 163 163 156 130 161.43 85.28
2 TM Head 154* 152 142 137 128 109 101 131.86 69.66
3 AJ Finch 153* 153 135 124 121 116 114 130.86 69.13

QUICK INNINGS POTENTIAL (NWT)

QI SR

In this criteria, we have taken the top 5 innings of the batsman with highest strike rate against Non Weak Teams. Quick Innings Strike Rate (QI SR) is the Relative SR of the batsmen in the 5 innings.

Criteria: Points For R SR In The Top 5 Inns by SR

RANK BATSMAN 1 2 3 4 5 QI SR RAT
TS BB McCullum 77/25 80/28 51/22 59/26 55/25 238.41 100.00
1 AC Gilchrist 38/20 69/37 51/29 83/50 76/46 174.75 73.30
2 SR Watson 185/96 72/40 51/34 45/31 69/51 156.09 65.47
3 TM Head 64/36 51/30 109/67 38/24 34/23 142.24 59.66
4 ML Hayden 101/68 41/30 59/48 66/54 45/37 131.13 55.00
5 DA Warner 56/34 29/18 35/23 179/128 78/56 130.19 54.61
6 AJ Finch 55/19 53/34 56/46 33/28 62/53 128.94 54.08
7 DC Boon 62/59 48/47 36/37 87/90 111/118 114.72 48.12
8 GM Wood 91/84 26/28 42/52 35/44 30/38 112.14 47.04
9 ME Waugh 173/148 106/97 83/83 31/31 95/96 111.63 46.82
10 GR Marsh 125/121 39/44 125/145 126/150 113/140 103.34 43.35

PRIMARY RATING

The total of the above five criteria comes out to be 1,000.00 points. The Primary Rating is the addition of the points a batsman scored in the five criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 40 percent.

RANK BATSMAN PRO CON ATT BIP QIP TOT PRI PTS
1 AC Gilchrist 120.18 199.16 293.53 80.85 73.30 767.02 306.81
2 DA Warner 120.60 234.87 256.39 85.28 54.61 751.75 300.70
3 TM Head 35.75 278.46 299.58 69.66 59.66 743.11 297.25
4 ML Hayden 76.97 243.79 232.49 82.94 55.00 691.19 276.48
5 SR Watson 50.73 239.39 245.13 82.77 65.47 683.48 273.39
6 AJ Finch 94.31 216.04 231.84 69.13 54.08 665.40 266.16
7 ME Waugh 74.84 225.18 233.60 78.76 46.82 659.21 263.69
8 GR Marsh 80.61 232.60 196.44 83.18 43.35 636.18 254.47
9 DC Boon 73.91 194.96 222.30 72.88 48.12 612.18 244.87
10 GM Wood 37.32 201.05 215.79 68.20 47.04 569.39 227.76

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions Rating is calculated by applying the five criteria of Primary Rating to various conditions. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. Click on the Rating Titles to see how they were calculated.

The four conditions criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA POINTS
Home 20.00
Away 80.00
Familiar Conditions 20.00
Unfamiliar Conditions 80.00

HOME/AWAY

HM/AW RATING

Points to note:-

  • U.A.E. and India are considered as Home for Afghanistan.
  • U.A.E. is also considered as a second home for Pakistan.
  • All Home and Away stats of Pakistani and Afghani batsmen are calculated accordingly.

At Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 AC Gilchrist 103 3832 37.57 101.13 701.48 14.03
2 DA Warner 64 2992 46.75 99.30 654.12 13.08
3 DC Boon 73 2426 34.17 62.09 595.11 11.90
4 ME Waugh 59 2472 45.78 75.74 592.42 11.85
5 GR Marsh 72 2477 35.90 54.11 583.55 11.67
6 ML Hayden 56 1994 39.10 73.72 547.14 10.94
7 AJ Finch 55 1955 35.55 85.00 533.62 10.67
8 SR Watson 22 923 43.95 94.76 530.28 10.61
9 GM Wood 41 1249 34.69 56.80 524.81 10.50
10 TM Head 13 713 54.85 104.09 500.00 10.00

Away From Home

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 20

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 DA Warner 93 3896 44.27 95.56 784.63 62.77
2 TM Head 30 1329 51.12 126.45 775.14 62.01
3 AC Gilchrist 156 5368 35.79 95.93 767.15 61.37
4 ML Hayden 91 3898 47.54 81.53 749.81 59.98
5 SR Watson 71 2960 45.54 90.80 727.18 58.17
6 AJ Finch 85 3431 41.84 89.33 723.77 57.90
7 GR Marsh 43 1880 47.00 58.37 689.27 55.14
8 ME Waugh 82 3257 42.86 77.60 664.83 53.19
9 DC Boon 45 1569 34.87 67.98 609.62 48.77
10 GM Wood 27 768 32.00 63.21 562.96 45.04

FAMILIAR/UNFAMILIAR CONDITIONS

FC/UC RATING

Points to note:-

  • Unfamiliar Conditions (UC) is Outside Asia for Asians and In Asia for Non Asians.
  • Familiar Conditions (FC) are the opposite.

Familiar Conditions Rating

Non Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 20

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 AC Gilchrist 211 7416 36.18 98.53 867.38 17.35
2 DA Warner 118 5300 46.49 97.55 804.93 16.10
3 ML Hayden 122 4686 42.60 77.94 760.95 15.22
4 ME Waugh 106 4316 44.49 75.84 723.28 14.47
5 AJ Finch 103 3856 37.80 87.32 678.85 13.58
6 SR Watson 64 2432 39.87 89.81 676.16 13.52
7 GR Marsh 89 3241 38.58 54.65 651.75 13.03
8 DC Boon 94 3061 33.27 61.99 622.92 12.46
9 GM Wood 57 1747 34.94 58.18 605.96 12.12
10 TM Head 27 1312 52.48 112.33 500.00 10.00

Unfamiliar Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 DA Warner 39 1588 41.79 95.84 825.16 66.01
2 SR Watson 29 1451 58.04 95.09 811.48 64.92
3 AC Gilchrist 48 1784 37.96 96.02 803.31 64.26
4 AJ Finch 37 1530 43.71 88.70 788.18 63.05
5 TM Head 16 730 52.14 128.52 739.92 59.19
6 ME Waugh 35 1413 42.82 79.83 711.34 56.91
7 ML Hayden 25 1206 52.43 81.82 691.36 55.31
8 GR Marsh 26 1116 44.64 59.71 678.61 54.29
9 DC Boon 24 934 38.92 73.14 666.16 53.29
10 GM Wood 11 270 27.00 65.69 500.00 40.00

CONDITIONS RATING

The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a batsman scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 20%.

RANK BATSMAN AWAY HOME UC FC CON PTS
1 DA Warner 62.77 13.08 66.01 16.10 157.96
2 AC Gilchrist 61.37 14.03 64.26 17.35 157.01
3 SR Watson 58.17 10.61 64.92 13.52 147.22
4 AJ Finch 57.90 10.67 63.05 13.58 145.21
5 ML Hayden 59.98 10.94 55.31 15.22 141.46
6 TM Head 62.01 10.00 59.19 10.00 141.20
7 ME Waugh 53.19 11.85 56.91 14.47 136.41
8 GR Marsh 55.14 11.67 54.29 13.03 134.14
9 DC Boon 48.77 11.90 53.29 12.46 126.42
10 GM Wood 45.04 10.50 40.00 12.12 107.65

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of three parts. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. Click on the Rating Titles to see how they were calculated.

The three secondary criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

CRITERIA POINTS
World Cup 150.00
Impact Innings 150.00
Top Form 100.00

WORLD CUP

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 5

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 DA Warner 28 1506 55.78 100.47 883.06 132.46
2 DC Boon 12 722 60.17 74.28 835.75 125.36
3 ML Hayden 21 987 51.95 92.94 763.08 114.46
4 AC Gilchrist 31 1085 36.17 97.92 757.29 113.59
5 ME Waugh 17 859 57.27 81.58 743.48 111.52
6 AJ Finch 18 787 43.72 98.25 720.77 108.11
7 GR Marsh 13 579 48.25 58.54 693.54 104.03
8 GM Wood 5 144 36.00 56.25 500.00 75.00
8 SR Watson 6 290 48.33 92.36 500.00 75.00
8 TM Head 6 329 54.83 127.52 500.00 75.00
Impact Innings (II)

Impact Innings are those innings which have an impact in terms of Runs or Strike Rate. Know All About II. Points to note about II:-

  • Both Inns are clubbed together.
  • A Batsman should score at least 25 runs to qualify.
  • An Inn is included in II if it is 30.00% of the total runs of the higher total or
  • The runs are 10.00% of the total runs and
  • The SR is high or in a successful chase while being Not Out.

IMPACT INNINGS

Min Innings Vs Top Teams: 30

RANK BATSMAN DIS II II/Dis % RAT WTG
1 TM Head 39 18 46.15 770.31 115.55
2 AC Gilchrist 252 82 32.54 695.23 104.28
3 DA Warner 152 47 30.92 655.95 98.39
4 SR Watson 86 31 36.05 619.89 92.98
5 ML Hayden 133 40 30.08 551.34 82.70
6 ME Waugh 130 35 26.92 520.55 78.08
7 GM Wood 60 9 15.00 500.00 75.00
8 AJ Finch 137 31 22.63 479.02 71.85
9 GR Marsh 109 24 22.02 448.38 67.26
10 DC Boon 116 19 16.38 415.99 62.40
TOP FORM RATING

Points to note:-

  • Top Form is calculated by taking the best 50 consecutive innings of a batsman.
  • Only Inns against Non Weak Teams are considered in the rating.
  • Non Weak Teams may be found in the last section.

TOP FORM

Min Innings Vs Non Weak Teams: 20

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 DA Warner 50 2800 59.57 101.49 820.65 82.07
2 SR Watson 50 2257 49.07 96.91 776.03 77.60
3 ML Hayden 50 2357 51.24 83.82 765.76 76.58
4 TM Head 43 2042 52.36 117.63 754.26 75.43
5 AJ Finch 50 2581 53.77 87.11 721.11 72.11
6 AC Gilchrist 50 1947 39.73 104.06 718.18 71.82
7 GR Marsh 50 2236 49.69 56.87 704.51 70.45
8 ME Waugh 50 2246 47.79 78.23 700.98 70.10
9 DC Boon 50 1936 38.72 69.44 662.41 66.24
10 GM Wood 50 1524 35.44 61.01 601.40 60.14

SECONDARY RATING

The Secondary Rating is the addition of the points a batsman scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is 40%.

RANK BATSMAN WC TF II SEC RAT
1 DA Warner 132.46 82.07 98.39 312.92
2 AC Gilchrist 113.59 71.82 104.28 289.70
3 ML Hayden 114.46 76.58 82.70 273.74
4 TM Head 75.00 75.43 115.55 265.97
5 ME Waugh 111.52 70.10 78.08 259.70
6 DC Boon 125.36 66.24 62.40 254.00
7 AJ Finch 108.11 72.11 71.85 252.08
8 SR Watson 75.00 77.60 92.98 245.59
9 GR Marsh 104.03 70.45 67.26 241.74
10 GM Wood 75.00 60.14 75.00 210.14

OVERALL RATING

OVERALL Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts.

RANK OV RANK BATSMAN NAT PRI PTS CON PTS SEC PTS FIN RAT
1 4 DA Warner AUS 300.70 157.96 312.92 771.58
2 5 AC Gilchrist AUS 306.81 157.01 289.70 753.52
3 14 TM Head AUS 297.25 141.20 265.97 704.42
4 17 ML Hayden AUS 276.48 141.46 273.74 691.67
5 20 SR Watson AUS 273.39 147.22 245.59 666.20
6 21 AJ Finch AUS 266.16 145.21 252.08 663.44
7 22 ME Waugh AUS 263.69 136.41 259.70 659.79
8 29 GR Marsh AUS 254.47 134.14 241.74 630.35
9 31 DC Boon AUS 244.87 126.42 254.00 625.30
10 51 GM Wood AUS 227.76 107.65 210.14 545.55

NON WEAK TEAMS

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1970s WI ENG AUS NZ PAK SL IND
1980s WI ENG AUS PAK IND NZ SL ZIM
1990s SA AUS PAK WI IND SL ENG NZ ZIM
2000s AUS SA SL PAK IND NZ ENG WI BAN
2010s IND SA AUS ENG NZ PAK SL BAN WI
2020s IND NZ SL AUS PAK SA BAN ENG WI AFG

TOP TEAMS

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1970s WI ENG AUS NZ PAK
1980s WI ENG AUS PAK IND NZ
1990s SA AUS PAK WI IND SL ENG
2000s AUS SA SL PAK IND NZ ENG
2010s IND SA AUS ENG NZ PAK SL
2020s IND NZ SL AUS PAK SA BAN

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