When we think of best finishers in cricket, the name of MS Dhoni, Michael Bevan, AB de Villiers and Jos Buttler comes to our mind. Doesn’t matter how well you start a game but if you can’t give it the finishing touch, more is left than done. On the other hand, we have seen finishers rescuing teams at big stages and leading the side in a confident zone.
It’s not about averages and manouvering the ball for finishers, they bat anywhere from from 4 to 7 for a team and their job is to play natural attacking cricket, keep the opposition bowlers under pressure and maximum utilisation of death overs where their style suits best.
Now that being said, it’s time to take a look at best finishers in modern game. MS Dhoni was a great finisher so was Michael Bevan but they are the name of past age. In this article, we will try to list down best finishers in the modern cricket.
Heinrich Klaasen, South Africa
First name that comes to mind when talking about a finisher is Heinrich Klaasen. There is no other way about it. Klaasen is the most complete batter at the time, spin or pace doesn’t bother him, if he is in song, they are all going to sail over boundaries.
A 63-Ball 119 and 83-Balls 174 tells us that how ruthless he can be, with the ability to accumulate big runs in last overs, he is definitely topping the list of best finishers. He will definitely play a crucial role for South Africa in upcoming ODI World Cup.
Liam Livingstone, England
Some may think Liam Livingstone is a suprising name but his batting quality, self-belief and of course recent performance puts him right in the list. He strikes the ball with immense power and has the ability to clear boundaries at will.
Livingstone carries a big boy energy that can unsettle any of bowlers in the world. He has put on display his ability time by time for England. Currently, he averages around 40 with a strike rate of 117. Those are outstanding numbers for someone who bats at 6.
Hardik Pandya, India
Hardik Pandya is a strategic finisher. He knows his game and takes a role of a finisher when the opportunity comes. With over 1700 runs in ODIs to his name with the strike rate of 110, he has definitely been an underodog among finishers.
Pandya is a clean striker of the ball, can put under pressure both spinners and pacers alike. We have seen him manifesting innings at earlier stage and letting it loose in crucial last overs. Definitely, a a finisher too look upto in a chasing match and
David Miller, South Africa
Another South African in the list. This is experience, consistency and quality of Miller that keeps him at the top of his game. The 34 years old has played 160 matches for South Africa, accumulating over 4000 runs at an average of 42 and strike rate of 103.
Adding to that, we all know what he can do if he stays at the crease in last 10-15 overs. He can bring himself a century and that is enough to call him one of the best finishers in the game currently.
Jos Buttler, England
Jos strikes like a boss. Some batters like to manifest and be cautious, Jos Buttler does business by his own method. Always full of intent and never lets a bowler get away with a bad ball. In death overs, Buttler likes to deal in sixes mostly.
Buttler is captaining England and has been consistent advocate of playing intent-driven cricket. His strike rate in ODIs is 118 and adding to that, he has hit 162 sixes in 142 innings. There is not much to say about his batting standard because everyone has seen once in while what he is capable of.
