Kapil Dev is the Ceat World’s Best Cricketer

Beats world greats like Richards, Hadlee, Botham, and Border
to win the coveted award

In a celebration of the great game of cricket, CEAT Cricket Ratings announced for the first time the ICICI Lombard Ceat International Cricketer of the Century award, which was given away at the 7th International Ceat Cricket Rating Awards ceremony held in Mumbai on 28th January 2003.There had been widespread speculation within the media, cricketing fraternity and fans, on who will be the proud winner of this prestigious award, after the Board of Council of Ceat Cricket Rating announced the nominations and awards for the 7th International Ceat Cricket Rating Awards.

The contenders for this most coveted award were Sir Richard Hadlee, Sir Vivian Richards, Kapil Dev, Allan Border, and Ian Botham. These players are the top five players on the Ceat Cricket Ratings chart (based on the rating system, had it existed since 1877, when the first test match was played).

And the winner is Kapil Dev, who beats the other five cricket greats to become the Ceat International Cricketer of the Century. The Harayana Hurricane has won 676 Ceat Cricket Rating points to beat the other contenders for the honour.

THE NOMINATIONS

Sir Viv Richards, the man nicknamed 'Smoking Joe' destroyed many an opposition in a glittering career that spanned 17 years. A few months after his international debut in 1974-75, he turned the first-ever World Cup final on its head by running out three Australian batsmen including the Chappell brothers. In 1976, he scored 829 runs in a Test series in England. He was the pivotal batsman of one of the greatest teams of all time; Clive Lloyd's conquerors who ruled world cricket in the latter half of the 70s and the 80s. Richards took over as captain after Lloyd retired in 1985. His hundred off 56 balls against England at Antigua in 1985-86 remains the fastest in Test history. He continued to be captain until his own retirement in 1991. He is one of the select long-serving captains who did not lose a single Test series during their tenure.

Allan Border, the first batsman to score 11,000 runs in Test cricket, Border made his Test debut in 1978-79 in a second-string Australian side, handicapped by the absence of the players then involved in Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket. When the Packer players returned to the fold in 1979-80, Border kept his place with some consistent performances. In 1984-85, he took over as captain of an inexperienced Australian side and held the job for the next nine seasons until his retirement. He led Australia to victory in the 1987 World Cup and in the subsequent years, transformed the Australian side into a force to reckon with at the international level, in Tests and one-day internationals. He holds the world record for the highest aggregate in Test cricket, and shares the world record for the highest number of Test matches with his protégé Steve Waugh.

Kapil Dev is the first and still the only player to achieve the 'double' of 5000 runs and 400 wickets in Test cricket, Kapil Dev held the world record for the highest number of Test wickets (434) from 1994 to early 2000. A brilliant batsman, outstanding bowler and peerless fielder, he led India to victory in the 1983 World Cup. He would have bagged 676 points, the highest in the history of the CEAT Cricket Rating had it existed since 1877, when the first-ever Test match was played.

Richard Hadlee was the first bowler to break the 400-wicket barrier in Test cricket and the first New Zealander to complete the double of 1000 runs and 100 wickets. He enjoyed a five-year reign as the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket from 1988-89 to 1993-94. His 33 wickets in a three-Test series against Australia took New Zealand to its first-ever series win against their Tasman rivals. He was knighted in 1990.

Ian Botham was the first all-rounder to score a century and take ten wickets in the same Test match. Botham was only the second player in Test history to complete the treble of 1000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches. His all-round exploits in the Ashes series of 1981 took England to a sensational 3-1 triumph against their old rivals.

TOP 5 CEAT INTERNATIONALS CRICKETERS OF THE CENTURY