Viv Richards Voted Greatest ODI Batsman in an online poll

 

West Indian batting great Viv Richards has been voted as the greatest ODI player in the history of the game ahead of India's cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar in an online poll.

With an astonishing 29 of 50 jurors picking him as the best ODI player of all time, Richards won by a landslide in an exercise conducted by ESPNcricinfo's magazine Cricket Monthly.

The 50-member jury included legendary cricketers Ian Chappell, Clive Lloyd, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith

Sachin Tendulkar, the most-prolific one-day batsman of all time, narrowly beat former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram.

The last two positions in the top five were taken by Australia's Adam Gilchrist and current Indian ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni

 

In all, 21 cricketers received votes - six Australians, five Indians, four Pakistanis, two West Indians, two South Africans, a Sri Lankan and an Englishman

The top 11 can be assembled into a dream team: Gilchrist, Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Richards, Jacques Kallis, Dhoni, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kapil Dev, Akram, Shane Warne and Joel Garner.