Tests Decades - Best Batsmen In 1990s Featured

Top Test Batsmen of the Decade (1990 – 1999)

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This Rating takes into account only the matches played in the 1990s. Brief explanation of the ratings is given before each section (Detailed Explanation). Here are the Top 10 batsmen in Test Cricket in the 1990s.

*Note: All Test Ratings are updated till 2025-02-15

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. 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. IMPACT INNINGS
5.5. 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 and Away, Difficult Runs, 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.
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 50

PRIMARY CRITERIA

The Primary Rating is divided into 4 main sections:-

CRITERIA STAT POINTS
Prolific Runs Scored 200.00
Consistent Average 500.00
Big Innings Potential Top Inns (Runs) 150.00
Attacking Strike Rate 150.00

PROLIFIC

Criteria: Points For Runs Scored

RANK BATSMAN NAT INNS RUNS RAT
TS AJ Stewart ENG 169 6407 200.00
1 AJ Stewart ENG 169 6407 200.00
2 ME Waugh AUS 164 6371 198.88
3 MA Taylor AUS 166 6306 196.85
4 SR Waugh AUS 143 6213 193.94
5 SR Tendulkar IND 109 5626 175.62
6 BC Lara WI 112 5573 173.97
7 PA de Silva SL 104 4448 138.85
8 MJ Slater AUS 103 4425 138.13
9 Saeed Anwar PAK 75 3366 105.07
10 ST Jayasuriya SL 74 2751 85.87

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

Against All Teams

RANK BATSMAN INNS NO RUNS AVE R AVE RAT
TS SR Tendulkar 109 12 5626 58.00 58.70 250.00
1 SR Tendulkar 109 12 5626 58.00 58.70 250.00
2 SR Waugh 143 26 6213 53.10 55.34 235.69
3 BC Lara 112 4 5573 51.60 54.32 231.33
4 Saeed Anwar 75 2 3366 46.11 49.77 211.95
5 MJ Slater 103 5 4425 45.15 49.04 208.87
6 PA de Silva 104 9 4448 46.82 47.37 201.75
7 ST Jayasuriya 74 9 2751 42.32 44.26 188.49
8 AJ Stewart 169 12 6407 40.81 43.70 186.12
9 MA Taylor 166 12 6306 40.95 43.06 183.38
10 ME Waugh 164 11 6371 41.64 42.30 180.15

Against Top Teams

RANK BATSMAN INNS NO RUNS AVE R AVE RAT
TS SR Tendulkar 91 7 4728 56.29 56.97 250.00
1 SR Tendulkar 91 7 4728 56.29 56.97 250.00
2 BC Lara 100 4 5062 52.73 55.50 243.58
3 ST Jayasuriya 54 6 2400 50.00 52.29 229.46
4 SR Waugh 135 23 5481 48.94 51.00 223.82
5 Saeed Anwar 58 1 2690 47.19 50.94 223.54
6 PA de Silva 84 6 3759 48.19 48.76 213.99
7 MJ Slater 92 3 3990 44.83 48.70 213.70
8 MA Taylor 151 10 5725 40.60 42.70 187.37
9 ME Waugh 149 10 5838 42.00 42.67 187.24
10 AJ Stewart 158 10 5840 39.46 42.26 185.45

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 BC Lara 375 277 213 179 167 153* 152 216.57 150.00
1 BC Lara 375 277 213 179 167 153* 152 216.57 150.00
2 SR Tendulkar 217 179 177 177 169 165 155* 177.00 122.59
3 MA Taylor 334* 170 169* 144 142* 129 124 173.14 119.92
4 SR Waugh 200 199 170 164 160 157* 157 172.43 119.43
5 PA de Silva 267 168 152 148 146 143* 138* 166.00 114.97
6 ST Jayasuriya 340 213 199 113 112 90 85 164.57 113.98
7 MJ Slater 219 176 169 168 152 124 123 161.57 111.91
8 AJ Stewart 190 173 170 164 148 143 119 158.14 109.53
9 Saeed Anwar 188* 176 169 149 145 136 126 155.57 107.75
10 ME Waugh 153* 140 139* 138 137 126 121 136.29 94.39

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

Min Qualification For TS
Min Runs 2500
Min Average 25
RANK BATSMAN R4BF BF SR R SR RAT
TS ST Jayasuriya 2751 4265 64.50 70.83 150.00
1 ST Jayasuriya 2751 4265 64.50 70.83 150.00
2 BC Lara 5573 8980 62.06 67.16 142.23
3 Saeed Anwar 3366 5843 57.61 63.69 134.88
4 MJ Slater 4425 8400 52.68 58.57 124.03
5 SR Tendulkar 5615 10338 54.31 58.40 123.68
6 PA de Silva 4436 8547 51.90 55.65 117.86
7 ME Waugh 6371 12246 52.03 55.25 117.01
8 AJ Stewart 6407 13210 48.50 53.65 113.62
9 SR Waugh 6213 13170 47.18 51.12 108.27
10 MA Taylor 6306 15344 41.10 45.66 96.69

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 BC Lara 173.97 474.91 150.00 142.23 941.11 470.55
2 SR Tendulkar 175.62 500.00 122.59 123.68 921.89 460.95
3 SR Waugh 193.94 459.51 119.43 108.27 881.14 440.57
4 MJ Slater 138.13 422.57 111.91 124.03 796.64 398.32
5 AJ Stewart 200.00 371.58 109.53 113.62 794.73 397.36
6 PA de Silva 138.85 415.74 114.97 117.86 787.42 393.71
7 MA Taylor 196.85 370.75 119.92 96.69 784.21 392.11
8 Saeed Anwar 105.07 435.49 107.75 134.88 783.19 391.60
9 ME Waugh 198.88 367.38 94.39 117.01 777.67 388.83
10 ST Jayasuriya 85.87 417.95 113.98 150.00 767.81 383.91

CONDITIONS CRITERIA

The Conditions

The Conditions Ratings are calculated by applying the four criteria of the Primary Rating to diffirent conditions. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points.

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

CRITERIA POINTS
Home 250.00
Away 1,000.00
Familiar Conditions 250.00
Unfamiliar Conditions 1,000.00

HOME/AWAY

HOME/AWAY RATING

Points to note:-

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

At Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 BC Lara 54 3026 59.33 63.12 939.29 234.82
2 PA de Silva 47 2515 62.88 53.19 856.24 214.06
3 MJ Slater 48 2468 53.65 55.49 813.97 203.49
4 SR Tendulkar 48 2515 59.88 56.51 811.38 202.84
5 SR Waugh 74 2973 48.74 48.25 736.46 184.11
6 MA Taylor 91 3613 43.53 40.27 731.80 182.95
7 ME Waugh 82 3379 43.88 51.96 726.85 181.71
8 AJ Stewart 83 3196 42.05 49.88 721.60 180.40
9 ST Jayasuriya 37 1353 42.28 64.00 704.77 176.19
10 Saeed Anwar 33 1420 44.38 57.17 631.75 157.94

Away From Home

Min Innings: 20

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 SR Waugh 69 3240 57.86 46.23 924.50 924.50
2 SR Tendulkar 61 3111 56.56 52.67 913.98 913.98
3 BC Lara 58 2547 44.68 60.85 823.92 823.92
4 Saeed Anwar 42 1946 47.46 57.93 822.03 822.03
5 AJ Stewart 86 3211 39.64 47.20 764.37 764.37
6 ME Waugh 82 2992 39.37 52.10 732.50 732.50
7 MA Taylor 75 2693 37.93 42.26 726.16 726.16
8 ST Jayasuriya 37 1398 42.36 64.99 715.89 715.89
9 MJ Slater 55 1957 37.63 49.52 668.09 668.09
10 PA de Silva 57 1933 35.15 50.30 653.04 653.04

FAMILIAR/UNFAMILIAR CONDITIONS

FAMILIAR/UNFAMILIAR CONDITIONS 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: 20

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 BC Lara 97 5179 55.69 63.26 967.20 241.80
2 SR Waugh 126 5536 54.27 47.71 854.53 213.63
3 AJ Stewart 161 6195 41.58 49.21 791.47 197.87
4 MJ Slater 81 3555 46.78 53.48 775.67 193.92
5 ME Waugh 137 5504 43.00 52.32 751.52 187.88
6 MA Taylor 142 5286 39.74 40.60 709.87 177.47

Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 20

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 SR Tendulkar 56 3185 66.35 56.24 975.93 243.98
2 PA de Silva 69 3115 51.07 50.48 852.65 213.16
3 Saeed Anwar 43 2027 49.44 58.01 797.47 199.37
4 ST Jayasuriya 47 1771 43.20 62.85 787.35 196.84

Unfamiliar Conditions Rating

Non Asians In Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 MA Taylor 24 1020 48.57 43.87 919.18 919.18
2 MJ Slater 22 870 39.55 49.63 788.52 788.52
3 ME Waugh 27 867 34.68 50.23 729.73 729.73
4 SR Waugh 17 677 45.13 43.20 725.68 725.68
5 AJ Stewart 8 212 26.50 34.14 500.00 500.00
6 BC Lara 15 394 26.27 49.68 470.40 470.40

Asians Outside Asia

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 SR Tendulkar 53 2441 49.82 52.00 894.17 894.17
2 Saeed Anwar 32 1339 41.84 57.00 723.39 723.39
3 PA de Silva 35 1333 39.21 55.54 703.51 703.51
4 ST Jayasuriya 27 980 40.83 67.73 656.21 656.21

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 SR Tendulkar 913.98 202.84 894.17 243.98 2,254.98 225.50
2 SR Waugh 924.50 184.11 725.68 213.63 2,047.93 204.79
3 MA Taylor 726.16 182.95 919.18 177.47 2,005.75 200.58
4 Saeed Anwar 822.03 157.94 723.39 199.37 1,902.72 190.27
5 MJ Slater 668.09 203.49 788.52 193.92 1,854.02 185.40
6 ME Waugh 732.50 181.71 729.73 187.88 1,831.83 183.18
7 PA de Silva 653.04 214.06 703.51 213.16 1,783.77 178.38
8 BC Lara 823.92 234.82 470.40 241.80 1,770.94 177.09
9 ST Jayasuriya 715.89 176.19 656.21 196.84 1,745.13 174.51
10 AJ Stewart 764.37 180.40 500.00 197.87 1,642.64 164.26

SECONDARY CRITERIA

The Secondary Rating consists of four parts. If Innings are less than the Qualification than the Player gets 50% of the Points.

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

CRITERIA POINTS
Top Form Home 200.00
Top Form Away 800.00
Difficult Runs 500.00
Impact Innings 1,000.00
TOP FORM RATING

Points to note about Top Form Rating:-

  • Top Form is calculated by taking the best 30 consecutive innings of a batsman.
  • There are two TF Ratings used in our DECADES Rating: Home and Away.

TOP FORM AT HOME

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 PA de Silva 30 1944 77.76 53.35 859.22 171.84
2 BC Lara 30 1826 62.97 65.28 855.97 171.19
3 MJ Slater 30 1680 57.93 55.65 794.26 158.85
4 SR Waugh 30 1571 71.41 47.97 785.32 157.06
5 SR Tendulkar 30 1556 57.63 59.19 766.28 153.26
6 ST Jayasuriya 30 1321 48.93 64.50 719.77 143.95
7 MA Taylor 30 1581 58.56 45.06 714.41 142.88
8 Saeed Anwar 30 1375 47.41 56.96 658.89 131.78
9 ME Waugh 30 1466 48.87 54.76 650.93 130.19
10 AJ Stewart 30 1369 48.89 53.23 639.62 127.92

TOP FORM AWAY

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 SR Tendulkar 30 1898 67.79 54.28 887.49 709.99
2 BC Lara 30 1671 57.62 65.48 886.48 709.18
3 SR Waugh 30 1753 76.22 46.13 883.84 707.08
4 Saeed Anwar 30 1407 48.52 57.52 740.48 592.38
5 ME Waugh 30 1453 51.89 57.73 717.08 573.66
6 ST Jayasuriya 30 1300 46.43 67.46 704.05 563.24
7 AJ Stewart 30 1388 51.41 44.49 703.00 562.40
8 MA Taylor 30 1201 42.89 44.85 664.31 531.44
9 MJ Slater 30 1114 39.79 49.93 596.80 477.44
10 PA de Silva 30 1045 36.03 49.86 595.25 476.20

DIFFICULT RUNS

DIFF RNS RATING

Points to note:-

  • Difficult Runs are runs scored in the first and fourth innings after losing the toss.
  • Only performances against Top Teams are considered in this rating.

Min Innings: 10

RANK BATSMAN INNS RUNS AVE SR RAT WTG
1 MA Taylor 33 1267 42.23 40.62 948.44 474.22
2 AJ Stewart 35 1143 35.72 48.91 923.70 461.85
3 SR Tendulkar 16 540 41.54 53.25 764.50 382.25
4 SR Waugh 24 786 37.43 43.50 741.65 370.82
5 ST Jayasuriya 11 469 42.64 69.79 731.88 365.94
6 ME Waugh 27 785 32.71 47.63 706.97 353.48
7 MJ Slater 20 580 32.22 48.29 669.78 334.89
8 PA de Silva 17 505 31.56 47.28 644.58 322.29
9 BC Lara 20 541 28.47 58.11 630.73 315.36
10 Saeed Anwar 10 322 32.20 50.55 601.50 300.75

IMPACT INNINGS

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:-

  • 1st & 2nd and 3rd & 4th innings are clubbed together.
  • A Batsman should score at least 30 runs to qualify.
  • An Inn is included in II if it is 20% of the total runs of the higher total or
  • The runs are more than 12.5% of the total runs and
  • The SR is high or in a successful chase while being Not Out.

Min Innings: 50

RANK BATSMAN DIS II II/Dis% RAT WTG
1 SR Tendulkar 97 35 36.08 942.50 942.50
2 BC Lara 108 39 36.11 923.13 923.13
3 SR Waugh 117 39 33.33 895.92 895.92
4 PA de Silva 95 32 33.68 836.57 836.57
5 AJ Stewart 157 41 26.11 778.53 778.53
6 Saeed Anwar 73 21 28.77 736.08 736.08
7 ST Jayasuriya 65 16 24.62 693.44 693.44
8 ME Waugh 153 36 23.53 666.14 666.14
9 MJ Slater 98 25 25.51 636.27 636.27
10 MA Taylor 154 33 21.43 552.01 552.01

SECONDARY RATING

The total of the above four criteria comes out to be 2,500.00 points. Secondary 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. 250.00 pts.

RANK BATSMAN TF HM TF AW DIF RNS II TOT SEC RAT
1 SR Tendulkar 153.26 709.99 382.25 942.50 2,188.00 218.80
2 SR Waugh 157.06 707.08 370.82 895.92 2,130.88 213.09
3 BC Lara 171.19 709.18 315.36 923.13 2,118.87 211.89
4 AJ Stewart 127.92 562.40 461.85 778.53 1,930.70 193.07
5 PA de Silva 171.84 476.20 322.29 836.57 1,806.90 180.69
6 ST Jayasuriya 143.95 563.24 365.94 693.44 1,766.57 176.66
7 Saeed Anwar 131.78 592.38 300.75 736.08 1,760.99 176.10
8 ME Waugh 130.19 573.66 353.48 666.14 1,723.47 172.35
9 MA Taylor 142.88 531.44 474.22 552.01 1,700.56 170.06
10 MJ Slater 158.85 477.44 334.89 636.27 1,607.45 160.75

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 SR Tendulkar IND 460.95 225.50 218.80 905.24
2 BC Lara WI 470.55 177.09 211.89 859.54
3 SR Waugh AUS 440.57 204.79 213.09 858.45
4 MA Taylor AUS 392.11 200.58 170.06 762.74
5 Saeed Anwar PAK 391.60 190.27 176.10 757.97
6 AJ Stewart ENG 397.36 164.26 193.07 754.70
7 PA de Silva SL 393.71 178.38 180.69 752.78
8 MJ Slater AUS 398.32 185.40 160.75 744.47
9 ME Waugh AUS 388.83 183.18 172.35 744.36
10 ST Jayasuriya SL 383.91 174.51 176.66 735.08

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 NZ ENG
1970s PAK ENG IND WI SA
1980s PAK WI ENG NZ IND
1990s IND PAK SA AUS SL WI
2000s AUS IND SL PAK SA ENG
2010s IND PAK SL ENG NZ SA
2020s IND AUS PAK NZ ENG SL

Top Teams Outside Asia

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

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