Top 30: Batsmen with the highest batting index in Twenty20 cricket (30-16)


The batting index has been brought in to add another statistical dimension to t20 cricket to measure the qualities of batsmen. It has been used during Sky Sports' coverage of international games and in particular the Natwest t20 Blast. The batting index is simply calculated by adding the batting average and strike rate of a batsman together. The big-hitting players will generally have a relatively attractive batting index because of their strike rate. I've taken a look at various player statistics via Cricinfo to come up with a top 30. There are some qualifications that I have taken into account, including:
  • minimum average (20)
  • minimum strike rate (120)
  • minimum balls faced (500)
  • currently active

Notable exlusions:



30. Ryan ten Doeschate (Avg: 29.36; SR: 138.42; BI: 167.78)

Ryan ten Doeschate in action for Essex vs
Surrey (PHOTO: Mitchell Gunn/Getty Images Sport)

 Ten Doeschate may be one of the most underrated t20 players in the world. He is an explosive batsman who bowls handy medium pace as well as being a top fielder, belying his 35 years. The all rounder has represented the Netherlands at international level with incredible results, averaging 67 in one day internationals and nearly 43 in Twenty20 internationals, although he has not played an official international for nearly four and a half years. 'Tendo' is a relatively consistent accumulator of runs, as his penchant for six-hitting has allowed him to pass three figures on two occasions. 


29. Richard Levi (Avg: 27.59; SR: 140.59; BI: 168.18)


 The burly South African exploded onto the international Twenty20 scene with an unbeaten 117 in just his second t20 international against New Zealand, containing 13 sixes.

That inital promise slowed however and he has not made another international appearance since December 2012, just 10 months after his debut. He has since gone onto represent Northamptonshire in all formats, scoring over 1000 runs in the domestic t20 over the past three seasons.


28. Brad Hodge (Avg: 37.00; SR: 131.64; BI: 168.64)

Hodge is the second highest runscorer in t20 history
(PHOTO: Paul Kane/Getty Images Sport)

Hodge is second only to Chris Gayle in the all-time run scoring list for Twenty20 matches with 6661, appearing for 17 different sides in the process. Despite his considerable success, of the 46 times he has passed 50, only twice has the Australian stalwart reached three figures, with a high score of 106. At the age of 40, Hodge recently turned out for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the latest edition of the Caribbean Premier League, coming seventh on the list of most runs with 298.



27. Alex Hales (Avg: 29.52; SR: 139.41; BI: 168.93)


 Hales is England's 6ft 5in opening batsman in limited overs cricket, having made his t20 bow for his country in 2011. He is able to clear the ropes with relative ease, having struck six maximums in a row against Birmingham Bears back in May on his way to 86*. Hales is also currently ranked third in the ICC World t20 rankings, just behind Virat Kohli and Aaron Finch whilst beating off stiff competition from the likes of Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum and David Warner.




26. Rakep Patel (Avg: 24.15; SR: 145.41; BI: 169.56)


Rakep Patel hits out for Kenya
(PHOTO: Matthew Lewis-IDI/ICC)
Patel is a one of a handful of surprise inclusions in this list, with his t20 pedigree coming largely on the international scene for Kenya. In November 2013 Patel struck his only t20 hundred to date, hitting 10 sixes in his 44-ball 103 in a losing cause against Nepal. A strong career strike rate owes to his six-hitting ability as he has cleared the ropes 67 times in 53 innings whilst his average is boosted by four half-centuries as well as finishing unbeaten on nine occasions. 


25. Brendon McCullum (Avg: 32.53; SR: 137.25; BI: 169.78)


He had to feature on this list and sure enough here he is, although only 25th. McCullum is widely-recognised to be one of the top t20 players currently plying their trade. The New Zealand batsman is way out in front in terms of international t20 runs, scoring 2140 runs in 70 innings, almost 650 more than Mahela Jayawardene in second. As for career totals, McCullum is third behind Hodge and Chris Gayle. The Kiwi is also only second to Gayle in terms of t20 hundreds with seven, the latest of which was a swashbuckling 158 not out for the Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston in the t20 Blast.




24. Jason Roy (Avg: 27.69; SR: 142.15; BI: 169.84)


Jason Roy is supremely talented and has a bright
England future (PHOTO: Jordan Mansfield/
Getty Images Sport)

 The other half of England's current limited overs opening pair is South African-born Jason Roy. A player with natural attacking instincts, evidenced by a strike rate of 83 in first class cricket, Roy enjoyed a sensational t20 Blast campaign in 2014 where he finished as top runscorer with 677 in 15 innings. Incredibly, the opener passed 50 in nine of those 15 innings at an average of 48 whilst striking at 157. The latest of his two hundreds came at the Oval against Somerset where he recorded his highest t20 score to date of 122*.

23. Gerrie Snyman (Avg: 26.07; SR: 143.83; 169.90)


Snyman, 34, has substantial pedigree after
over a decade of playing for Namibia
(PHOTO: Joel Ford-IDI/ICC)
Like Patel, Namibia captain Gerrie Snyman has seen his t20 success measured on the back of international performances across 42 games against fellow associate countries. Snyman rose to short-lived prominence in 2008 on the back of an incredible innings of 230 in an ICC Inter-Continental Cup game against Kenya. What made it so incredible was the fact that his team were bowled out for 282, meaning his knock that included 22 boundaries and 11 maximums had accounted for nearly 82% of the entire innings. His only official international appearances to date are from back in 2003 where he represented his country at the World Cup in South Africa. His destructive batting that has been on show in his t20 career was not matched in the tournament 12 years ago. Snyman recorded three golden ducks in his four innings, although Paul Collingwood and Freddie Flintoff were among his six scalps bowling-wise. 

22. Jos Buttler (Avg: 26.75; SR: 144.08; BI: 170.83)


Jos Buttler emerged as an exciting talent at his home county Somerset with an array of unorthodox, innovative and daring strokes. He is currently an indispensable member of the England squad across all formats, with his calming influence at the crease leading him to be ranked inside the top 60 in Tests, ODIs and t20Is. A testament to Buttler's supreme talent is his performances for his current county side, Lancashire in this year's t20 Blast. Despite only playing twice for the Red Rose thus far, Buttler has almost single-handedly won both games with the bat, scoring 71* against rivals Yorkshire and 53 in the recent quarter final against Kent.




AB de Villiers: the best?
(PHOTO: Phil Walter/
Getty Images Sport)

21. AB de Villiers (Avg: 31.09; SR: 139.79; BI: 170.88)


Considered by many to be the best batsmen in the world, AB de Villiers has an unsurprisingly excellent batting index. De Villiers is such a 360° hitter that it sometimes appears as if there is simply nowhere to bowl to him without the ball whistling off to the boundary, be it via a conventional stroke or a devastatingly unorthodox one. 



20. Shaun Marsh (Avg: 40.89; SR: 130.08; BI: 170.97)


Shaun Marsh has shown incredible consistency over his 9-year Twenty20 career, with the fact that he is one of only two players to have played over 40 innings to average 40 or more a clear indication of his constant supplying of runs. Further that with the fact that the other player is Mr Consistency himself, Chris Gayle, and you have an even clearer idea of the Australian's credentials. The left-hander has been particularly excellent in the IPL, having represented Kings XI Punjab from 2008 up to 2015 and is by far their top runscorer, contributing 2054 runs at an average of 42 with an impressive 17 half-centuries to back up his solitary hundred in just 55 innings. Marsh announced himself to the world in 2008 in the inaugral IPL season where he was purchased as a relative unknown for a paltry $US30,000. He went on to stun onlookers as he eased to the top of the Orange Cap standings with 616 runs in just 11 innings, including a knock of 115 to go with five half centuries.



19. Shane Watson (Avg: 31.53; SR: 140.47; BI: 172)


Watson is a dangerous proposition
in all forms of the game (PHOTO:
Matt King/Getty Images Sport)
The big Aussie all rounder has been another consistent runscorer in t20 cricket, most recently for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, with whom he plundered 347 runs in 9 innings, including a belligerent 104* against Kolkata Knight Riders. The five sixes that he struck in that innings took him past 200 career maximums, with Watson currently placed 14th on the career sixes list, one ahead of Yuvraj Singh. 




18. MS Dhoni (Avg: 37.03; SR: 135.22; BI: 172.25)


Capable of the seemingly impossible at times, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a must have in any t20 side. Presenting an incredibly cool persona on the field, his cool, calm, collected approach to captaincy is a big reason as to why India and particularly Chennai Super Kings have been so successful in the last six or seven years. Couple that with his wicket-keeping ability and his calm yet regularly brutal approach to his batting and he is up there to be considered as an ultimate t20 player.




17. Kithuruwan Vithanage (Avg: 28; SR: 145.30; BI: 173.30)


Kithuruwan Vithanage is an attacking
talent for the future (PHOTO: Gareth
Copley/Getty Images Sport)
Similarly to Roy, Vithanage has a first class strike rate of 83 that suggests he possesses some strong attacking instincts. Indeed, in 12 Test innings for Sri Lanka, Vithanage is striking at an impressive 79. Just 24 years old, Vithanage has already represented his country across all three formats, with his main success coming in the Test arena - maybe not surprising given his highest first class score is a mammoth 351.  



16. Suresh Raina (Avg: 34.24; SR: 140.45; BI: 174.69)


Suresh Raina has shown himself to be one of the best and most dangerous t20 batsmen in the world with his incredibly consistent performances in the IPL since its debut season back in 2008. He is over 300 runs clear of Rohit Sharma as the highest scoring batsman in IPL history with 3699 runs as well as the fact that he has passed 50 on 26 occasions, although only one of those has been converted into a ton.








All statistics correct up to 17th August 2015

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