GOAT Rank · 27

Greatest Cricket Opening batter of all time

This ranking uses verified career records and GOAT Rank's published model. Every listed athlete clears the data eligibility threshold.

#AthleteGOAT Score

18

90.6

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1905–1934
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Jack Hobbs

34

89.9

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2006–2018
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Alastair Cook

37

89.6

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1998–2021
Country: 🇯🇲 Jamaica

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Chris Gayle

53

88.8

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1881–1904
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Bobby Abel

72

88.3

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2006–active
Country: 🇳🇿 New Zealand

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Suzie Bates

115

Geoffrey Boycott

87.0

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1964–1986
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Geoffrey Boycott

117

87.0

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2004–2024
Country: 🇮🇳 India

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Shikhar Dhawan

119

87.0

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1972–1994
Country: 🇿🇦 South Africa

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Jimmy Cook

124

86.7

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1998–2012
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Andrew Strauss

150

85.7

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1960–1987
Country: 🇬🇧 England

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Dennis Amiss

162

Charlie Barnett

85.4

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1927–1953
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Charlie Barnett

164

Warren Bardsley

85.3

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1903–1926
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Warren Bardsley

173

84.9

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2007–2023
Country: 🇧🇩 Bangladesh

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Tamim Iqbal

183

Stewie Dempster

84.7

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1921–1947
Country: 🇳🇿 New Zealand

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Stewie Dempster

189

84.3

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1989–2003
Country: 🇵🇰 Pakistan

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Saeed Anwar

201

83.9

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1889–1904
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Jack Brown

208

83.7

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1912–1934
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Ted Bowley

221

83.1

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1934–1959
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Dennis Brookes

241

81.9

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1928–1936
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Fred Bakewell

242

81.8

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1932–1950
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Bill Brown

253

Michael Atherton

81.1

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1989–2001
Country: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Michael Atherton

254

81.0

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇬🇧 England

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Ben Duckett

255

Cuthbert Burnup

81.0

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1895–1907
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Cuthbert Burnup

267

79.6

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2001–2018
Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Nick Compton

274

78.5

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2017–active
Country: 🇬🇧 England

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 72.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Zak Crawley

275

78.3

Sport: Cricket
Career: 1948–1959
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Jim Burke

276

78.0

Sport: Cricket
Career: 2011–active
Country: 🇬🇧 England

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 70.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Rory Burns

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
18	Jack Hobbs	Cricket	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1905–1934	90.6
34	Alastair Cook	Cricket	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	2006–2018	89.9
37	Chris Gayle	Cricket	🇯🇲 Jamaica	1998–2021	89.6
53	Bobby Abel	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1881–1904	88.8
72	Suzie Bates	Cricket	🇳🇿 New Zealand	2006–—	88.3
115	Geoffrey Boycott	Cricket	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1964–1986	87
117	Shikhar Dhawan	Cricket	🇮🇳 India	2004–2024	87
119	Jimmy Cook	Cricket	🇿🇦 South Africa	1972–1994	87
124	Andrew Strauss	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1998–2012	86.7
150	Dennis Amiss	Cricket	🇬🇧 England	1960–1987	85.7
162	Charlie Barnett	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1927–1953	85.4
164	Warren Bardsley	Cricket	🇦🇺 Australia	1903–1926	85.3
173	Tamim Iqbal	Cricket	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	2007–2023	84.9
183	Stewie Dempster	Cricket	🇳🇿 New Zealand	1921–1947	84.7
189	Saeed Anwar	Cricket	🇵🇰 Pakistan	1989–2003	84.3
201	Jack Brown	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1889–1904	83.9
208	Ted Bowley	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1912–1934	83.7
221	Dennis Brookes	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1934–1959	83.1
241	Fred Bakewell	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1928–1936	81.9
242	Bill Brown	Cricket	🇦🇺 Australia	1932–1950	81.8
253	Michael Atherton	Cricket	🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England	1989–2001	81.1
254	Ben Duckett	Cricket	🇬🇧 England	2013–—	81
255	Cuthbert Burnup	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1895–1907	81
267	Nick Compton	Cricket	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	2001–2018	79.6
274	Zak Crawley	Cricket	🇬🇧 England	2017–—	78.5
275	Jim Burke	Cricket	🇦🇺 Australia	1948–1959	78.3
276	Rory Burns	Cricket	🇬🇧 England	2011–—	78

Compare the leaders

Jack Hobbs vs Alastair Cook

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

Only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible.

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