Tests Decades - Best Batsmen In 1980s Featured

Top Test Batsmen of the Decade (1980 – 1989)

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This Rating takes into account only the matches played in the 1980s. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). It is to be noted that U.A.E. is considered as a second Home for Pakistan and all stats of Pakistani batsmen are calculated accordingly. Here are the Top 10 batsmen in Test Cricket in the 1980s.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2023-08-09

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. BIG INNINGS POTENTIAL
3.4. ATTACKING
3.5. 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
4.2.1.2. Asians In Asia
4.2.2. Unfamiliar Conditions Rating
4.2.2.1. Non Asians In Asia
4.2.2.2. Asians Outside Asia
4.3. CONDITIONS RATING
5. SECONDARY CRITERIA
5.1. TOP FORM AT HOME
5.2. TOP FORM AWAY
5.3. DIFFICULT RUNS
5.4. SECONDARY RATING
6. DECADES RATING
7. TOP TEAMS
7.1. Top Teams In Asia
7.2. Top Teams Outside Asia

THE CRITERIA

CRITERIA CONSTITUENTS
Primary Runs, Average, Top Inns, Strike Rate
Conditions Home, Away, In Asia, Outside Asia
Secondary Top Form Home, Top Form Away, Difficult Runs
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.
Top Teams (TT)

Some sections consider performances only against the top teams. Here is some information about the Top Teams:-

  • Win/Loss Ratio is used to determine top teams.
  • The top teams are calculated by decades.
  • Further, they are divided into In Asia and Outside Asia.
  • A batsman’s performace is counted in TT if it comes in the specific condition and in the specific decade.

QUALIFICATION

Min Innings 25
Min Runs (TS AVE SR) 1500
Min Average (TS SR) 30

PRIMARY CRITERIA

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Runs Scored

RANK BATSMAN NAT INNS RUNS RAT
TS AR Border AUS 164 7386 200.00
1 AR Border AUS 164 7386 200.00
2 DI Gower ENG 157 6196 167.78
3 Javed Miandad PAK 110 5642 152.78
4 IVA Richards WI 112 5113 138.45
5 CG Greenidge WI 123 5094 137.94
6 DL Haynes WI 139 5074 137.40
7 DB Vengsarkar IND 112 4501 121.88
8 SM Gavaskar IND 106 4475 121.18
9 CH Lloyd WI 61 2881 78.01
10 GS Chappell AUS 55 2712 73.44

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

Against All Teams

RANK BATSMAN INNS NO RUNS AVE R AVE RAT
TS GS Chappell 55 6 2712 55.35 57.86 250.00
1 GS Chappell 55 6 2712 55.35 57.86 250.00
2 AR Border 164 30 7386 55.12 55.80 241.07
3 CH Lloyd 61 6 2881 52.38 54.63 236.01
4 Javed Miandad 110 7 5642 54.78 53.50 231.16
5 IVA Richards 112 8 5113 49.16 50.20 216.88
6 CG Greenidge 123 12 5094 45.89 47.91 207.00
7 SM Gavaskar 106 9 4475 46.13 47.70 206.10
8 DB Vengsarkar 112 16 4501 46.89 46.83 202.33
9 DL Haynes 139 16 5074 41.25 43.29 187.02
10 DI Gower 157 11 6196 42.44 43.00 185.80

Against Top Teams

RANK BATSMAN INNS NO RUNS AVE R AVE RAT
TS GS Chappell 49 6 2278 52.98 55.39 250.00
1 GS Chappell 49 6 2278 52.98 55.39 250.00
2 AR Border 145 28 6315 53.97 54.64 246.62
3 IVA Richards 86 7 4095 51.84 52.93 238.90
4 Javed Miandad 71 4 3454 51.55 50.35 227.29
5 CH Lloyd 47 4 1978 46.00 47.97 216.52
6 CG Greenidge 93 8 3787 44.55 46.51 209.95
7 DL Haynes 107 13 4084 43.45 45.59 205.78
8 SM Gavaskar 95 7 3875 44.03 45.53 205.52
9 DB Vengsarkar 101 15 3853 44.80 44.75 201.99
10 DI Gower 128 7 5199 42.97 43.54 196.53

BIG INNINGS POTENTIAL

Ave HS

In this criteria, we have taken the top 7 scores of the batsman in the specific condition. 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 BATSMAN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 AVE HS RAT
TS Javed Miandad 280* 271 260 211 203* 145 138 215.43 150.00
1 Javed Miandad 280* 271 260 211 203* 145 138 215.43 150.00
2 CG Greenidge 223 214* 213 194 154* 141 127 180.86 125.93
3 GS Chappell 235 204 201 182 176 150* 117 180.71 125.83
4 SM Gavaskar 236* 176 172 172 166* 166 155 177.57 123.64
5 AR Border 205 196 163 153 152* 150* 146* 166.43 115.88
6 DI Gower 215 173* 166 157 154* 152 136 164.71 114.69
7 IVA Richards 208 182* 178 146 145 123 120* 157.43 109.62
8 DB Vengsarkar 166 164* 159 157 153 137 126* 151.71 105.64
9 DL Haynes 184 145 143 136 131 125 122 140.86 98.08
10 CH Lloyd 161* 143 121 114 106 103 101 121.29 84.45

ATTACKING

R SR

Relative Strike Rate (R SR) is calculated using the same method as R Ave with average being replaced with SR. Batsman who were active in earlier times benefit from this as SR was generally low earlier.

R4BF

Balls played by batsmen for many inns is not available for earlier times. When such is the case, we have used Runs For Balls Faced (R4BF) to determine the Strike Rate. This is the runs scored by the batsman for the available data of balls.

Criteria: Points For R SR

RANK BATSMAN R4BF BF SR R SR RAT
TS N Kapil Dev 2805 3332 84.18 91.33 150.00
1 IVA Richards 4653 6587 70.64 76.83 126.19
2 GS Chappell 2712 4962 54.66 60.84 99.92
3 CH Lloyd 2423 4347 55.74 60.49 99.36
4 DI Gower 6196 12472 49.68 54.27 89.13
5 CG Greenidge 4614 9644 47.84 53.91 88.54
6 Javed Miandad 4945 10476 47.20 51.45 84.51
7 DB Vengsarkar 3307 7233 45.72 50.27 82.56
8 SM Gavaskar 3655 8281 44.14 49.46 81.24
9 DL Haynes 4689 10847 43.23 48.81 80.17
10 AR Border 7340 17417 42.14 46.42 76.25

PRIMARY RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 1,000.00 points. The Primary Rating is the addition of the points a batsman scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is half of the DECADES Rating, i.e. 500.00 pts.

RANK BATSMAN PRO CON BIP ATT RAT PRI PTS
1 AR Border 200.00 487.69 115.88 76.25 879.81 439.91
2 Javed Miandad 152.78 458.44 150.00 84.51 845.73 422.86
3 IVA Richards 138.45 455.79 109.62 126.19 830.04 415.02
4 GS Chappell 73.44 500.00 125.83 99.92 799.18 399.59
5 CG Greenidge 137.94 416.94 125.93 88.54 769.35 384.67
6 DI Gower 167.78 382.32 114.69 89.13 753.92 376.96
7 SM Gavaskar 121.18 411.63 123.64 81.24 737.68 368.84
8 DB Vengsarkar 121.88 404.33 105.64 82.56 714.41 357.20
9 CH Lloyd 78.01 452.53 84.45 99.36 714.35 357.17
10 DL Haynes 137.40 392.79 98.08 80.17 708.44 354.22

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions

The Conditions Ratings are calculated by applying the four criteria of the Primary Rating to diffirent conditions. Unfamiliar Conditions (UC) is Outside Asia for Asians and In Asia for Non Asians. Familiar Conditions (FC) is the opposite. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. Here are those conditions and their weightage:-

  • HOME – 250 PTS
  • AWAY – 1,000 PTS
  • FC – 250 PTS
  • UC – 1,000 PTS

HOME/AWAY

At Home

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 IVA Richards 37 1946 57.24 70.06 814.53 203.63
2 Javed Miandad 55 3005 60.10 47.64 805.85 201.46
3 SM Gavaskar 54 2650 54.08 47.94 763.54 190.89
4 DB Vengsarkar 53 2621 58.24 46.15 755.40 188.85
5 AR Border 91 3847 47.49 41.14 754.88 188.72
6 DL Haynes 50 2203 55.08 49.97 748.00 187.00
7 CH Lloyd 15 960 64.00 60.44 721.71 180.43
8 GS Chappell 43 1924 50.63 52.63 717.36 179.34
9 DI Gower 89 3286 38.66 50.95 685.86 171.46
10 CG Greenidge 46 1868 47.90 48.49 653.07 163.27

Away From Home

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 AR Border 73 3539 66.77 43.31 889.05 889.05
2 IVA Richards 75 3167 45.24 70.98 774.82 774.82
3 CG Greenidge 77 3226 44.81 47.51 769.39 769.39
4 GS Chappell 12 788 71.64 60.34 766.55 766.55
5 Javed Miandad 55 2637 49.75 46.71 741.54 741.54
6 DI Gower 68 2910 47.70 48.31 729.43 729.43
7 CH Lloyd 46 1921 48.03 54.24 652.29 652.29
8 DL Haynes 89 2871 34.59 39.47 627.64 627.64
9 SM Gavaskar 52 1825 38.02 38.78 584.93 584.93
10 DB Vengsarkar 59 1880 36.86 45.18 561.77 561.77

FAMILIAR/UNFAMILIAR CONDITIONS

Familiar Conditions Rating

Non Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 AR Border 143 6351 53.37 41.63 883.21 220.80
2 IVA Richards 86 3973 49.66 71.59 852.63 213.16
3 CG Greenidge 102 4291 46.64 47.94 799.36 199.84
4 GS Chappell 49 2265 52.67 53.83 785.65 196.41
5 DL Haynes 110 4444 46.29 45.07 766.89 191.72
6 DI Gower 133 5058 40.14 50.91 750.51 187.63
7 CH Lloyd 47 2279 51.80 56.17 728.40 182.10

Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Javed Miandad 73 3788 56.54 47.02 913.82 228.45
2 SM Gavaskar 73 3390 51.36 46.90 878.21 219.55
3 DB Vengsarkar 71 3113 51.88 46.44 828.36 207.09

Unfamiliar Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 5

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 AR Border 21 1035 69.00 45.59 925.04 925.04
2 DI Gower 24 1138 56.90 44.86 875.13 875.13
3 IVA Richards 26 1140 47.50 66.94 863.00 863.00
4 CG Greenidge 21 803 42.26 47.22 734.49 734.49
5 GS Chappell 6 447 74.50 59.28 733.29 733.29
6 CH Lloyd 14 602 54.73 54.02 705.08 705.08
7 DL Haynes 29 630 23.33 32.36 466.15 466.15

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 5

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Javed Miandad 37 1854 51.50 47.51 885.08 885.08
2 DB Vengsarkar 41 1388 38.56 44.52 652.13 652.13
3 SM Gavaskar 33 1085 35.00 36.92 593.71 593.71

CONDITIONS RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a batsman scored in the four criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is one-fourth of the DECADES Rating, i.e. 250 pts.

RANK BATSMAN AWAY HOME UC FC TOT CON PTS
1 AR Border 889.05 188.72 925.04 220.80 2,223.62 222.36
2 Javed Miandad 741.54 201.46 885.08 228.45 2,056.53 205.65
3 IVA Richards 774.82 203.63 863.00 213.16 2,054.60 205.46
4 DI Gower 729.43 171.46 875.13 187.63 1,963.66 196.37
5 GS Chappell 766.55 179.34 733.29 196.41 1,875.59 187.56
6 CG Greenidge 769.39 163.27 734.49 199.84 1,866.98 186.70
7 CH Lloyd 652.29 180.43 705.08 182.10 1,719.89 171.99
8 DB Vengsarkar 561.77 188.85 652.13 207.09 1,609.84 160.98
9 SM Gavaskar 584.93 190.89 593.71 219.55 1,589.08 158.91
10 DL Haynes 627.64 187.00 466.15 191.72 1,472.52 147.25

SECONDARY CRITERIA

Top Form And Difficult Runs

The Secondary Rating consists of three parts. Top Form is calculated by taking the best 30 consecutive innings of a batsmen such that his overall points are maximum. Top Form is calculated seperately for Home and Away innings. Difficult Runs are defined as runs scored in the 1st and 4th inns after losing the toss. Moreover, only performaces against Top Teams are counted in Difficult Runs Rating. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points. The three secondary criteria and thier weightage is as follows:-

  • TOP FORM AT HOME – 500 PTS
  • TOP FORM AWAY – 1,000 PTS
  • DIFF RUNS – 1,000 PTS

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings: 5

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 Javed Miandad 30 2050 78.85 50.25 937.38 468.69
2 IVA Richards 30 1782 66.00 72.77 835.86 417.93
3 DB Vengsarkar 30 1773 70.92 51.39 823.98 411.99
4 DL Haynes 30 1555 74.05 50.38 779.03 389.51
5 SM Gavaskar 30 1528 58.77 48.51 748.00 374.00
6 DI Gower 30 1569 54.10 55.25 740.94 370.47
7 AR Border 30 1586 58.74 42.85 736.51 368.26
8 GS Chappell 30 1381 51.15 53.99 713.87 356.94
9 CG Greenidge 30 1413 61.43 47.46 695.12 347.56
10 CH Lloyd 15 960 64.00 60.44 636.98 318.49

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 5

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 AR Border 30 1637 71.17 47.48 797.42 797.42
2 Javed Miandad 30 1610 55.52 46.55 774.72 774.72
3 CG Greenidge 30 1433 51.18 52.90 759.39 759.39
4 IVA Richards 30 1476 50.90 70.85 698.29 698.29
5 CH Lloyd 30 1425 57.00 54.88 686.96 686.96
6 DI Gower 30 1473 54.56 47.18 683.27 683.27
7 GS Chappell 12 788 71.64 60.34 662.57 662.57
8 SM Gavaskar 30 1241 47.73 41.38 641.62 641.62
9 DB Vengsarkar 30 1158 50.35 46.49 588.28 588.28
10 DL Haynes 30 1123 46.79 40.14 571.96 571.96

DIFFICULT RUNS

Min Innings: 5

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 IVA Richards 17 769 51.27 68.05 841.75 841.75
2 AR Border 29 1072 42.88 36.07 817.33 817.33
3 DL Haynes 24 949 49.95 43.35 815.18 815.18
4 GS Chappell 11 534 66.75 63.35 791.77 791.77
5 CG Greenidge 22 832 41.60 46.69 744.36 744.36
6 DI Gower 27 772 29.69 53.46 648.84 648.84
7 Javed Miandad 13 462 42.00 45.25 562.48 562.48
8 SM Gavaskar 14 453 37.75 38.30 541.70 541.70
9 CH Lloyd 9 351 39.00 53.42 540.34 540.34
10 DB Vengsarkar 17 393 26.20 54.99 468.16 468.16

SECONDARY RATING

The total of the above three criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. The Conditions Rating is the addition of the points a batsman scored in the three criteria. The Weightage of the Rating is one-fourth of the DECADES Rating, i.e. 250.00 pts.

RANK BATSMAN TF AW TF HM DF RNS TOT SEC RAT
1 AR Border 797.42 368.26 817.33 1,983.00 198.30
2 IVA Richards 698.29 417.93 841.75 1,957.97 195.80
3 CG Greenidge 759.39 347.56 744.36 1,851.31 185.13
4 GS Chappell 662.57 356.94 791.77 1,811.27 181.13
5 Javed Miandad 774.72 468.69 562.48 1,805.89 180.59
6 DL Haynes 571.96 389.51 815.18 1,776.65 177.67
7 DI Gower 683.27 370.47 648.84 1,702.57 170.26
8 SM Gavaskar 641.62 374.00 541.70 1,557.32 155.73
9 CH Lloyd 686.96 318.49 540.34 1,545.79 154.58
10 DB Vengsarkar 588.28 411.99 468.16 1,468.43 146.84

DECADES RATING

The DECADES Rating is the addition of the points of all the above criteria. The rating is out of 1,000 Pts. Half the points are for Primary Criteria; one-fourth for Conditions; and one-fourth for Secondary Criteria.

RANK BATSMAN NAT PRI RAT CON RAT SEC RAT FIN RAT
1 AR Border AUS 439.91 222.36 198.30 860.57
2 IVA Richards WI 415.02 205.46 195.80 816.28
3 Javed Miandad PAK 422.86 205.65 180.59 809.11
4 GS Chappell AUS 399.59 187.56 181.13 768.28
5 CG Greenidge WI 384.67 186.70 185.13 756.50
6 DI Gower ENG 376.96 196.37 170.26 743.58
7 CH Lloyd WI 357.17 171.99 154.58 683.74
8 SM Gavaskar IND 368.84 158.91 155.73 683.48
9 DL Haynes WI 354.22 147.25 177.67 679.14
10 DB Vengsarkar IND 357.20 160.98 146.84 665.03

TOP TEAMS

Top Teams In Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5 6
1950s AUS WI PAK IND ENG
1960s WI AUS PAK IND ENG SA
1970s PAK ENG IND WI SA AUS
1980s PAK WI ENG NZ AUS
1990s IND PAK SA AUS WI
2000s AUS SL IND PAK SA ENG
2010s IND PAK SL ENG SA AUS
2020s IND ENG PAK AUS NZ

Top Teams Outside Asia

DECADE OF MAT 1 2 3 4 5
1950s AUS ENG WI SA PAK
1960s ENG AUS WI SA NZ
1970s SA ENG WI AUS IND
1980s WI NZ AUS ENG PAK
1990s AUS SA WI PAK ENG
2000s AUS SA ENG IND NZ
2010s SA AUS ENG NZ IND
2020s AUS NZ SA ENG IND

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