without any doubt this list is a joke..

20 players out off 50 r australians,,he should name the list as TOP 20 AUSTRALIAN PLAYERS rather than TOP 50 world Players..

o'faiz, Leeds, West Yorkshire

good stuff to read but steve waugh in the 20-30 category is difficult to stomach. maybe shane warned eyed for the aussiee leadership that's why he has spoken lightly about steve waugh's achievements.
no place for inzy.and azhar .. we can't agree with his selection
venkat, new york

venkateswaran, flushing, new york

i notice no bengali players... even a zimbabwean but admittedly andy flower.

arnab, birmingham, UK

hi everyone there..................... i m indian so don't consider my views personally, i agree sachin tendulkar is the best batsman of our era and warne's also, but how can he forget the the impeccable sunny gavaskar in the top ten. too rubbish for him but democracy can have its word. he thinks so....... wake up shane SHANE SHANE

SHEKHAR SHARMA , mohali, india

Where is Viv Richards, Miandad & Inzamam?

Tobin Paul George, Calicut, Kerala, India

I'm just disappointed to see the list. I too agree that Lehmann is a class player & did'nt get enough opportunities to make it big like Border or Waughs. Since this list is about greatest cricketers, it's ridiculous to select a player who has'nt achieved that much. Warne pointed out correctly that this would raise many eyebrows. Steve Waugh certainly deserves a place in top 15 greatest cricketers.

Tobin Paul George, Calicut, Kerala, India

i think shane warn is mad .he forget inzi . who is the best batsman of the pakistan and how many matches win only becos of inzi . he was alone match winner . his average is above 50 in test and above 40 in one day . who has record of most fifties in one day cricket. i think he forget the innings of 1992 worldcup final and semifinal he forget innings of karachi test in 1994. he for get inning of 329 . he forget 26 centuries in test cricket . he made 200000 runs in cricket and he is second hight runs maker in oneday and i thinl in to 20 in test cricket and he is till not in top 50 . i think warn forget inzi or he is mad. he forghet 138 runs inning against bangladesh when 200 runs were requir and only 4 wickets were remaining he alone stand

shahzad, lahore, pakistab

When Steve Waugh took over the team, it was a GOOD team. HE transformed it into a GREAT team. The BEST EVER team , to be compared with the Unbeatables ... It was Waugh's greats.

Ricky Ponting was handed an already GREAT team ( Not his fault ) and he not only maintained its greatness but led the way most of the times with his aggressive captaincy, dominant batting and his graceful n whole hearted display on the field

Who Cares, Bangalore, India

Craig Mcdermott !!! He was a good bowler but great !!! Warne says he needed conditions in his favour , what great bowler wud require conditions to suit him and only then perform well !!! You contradict urself Mr.Warne.

Who Cares, Bangalore, India

Lehmann was an attacking batsman, who was really good against spinners but he lacked sumthing against the faster bowlers ... He was very attacking espesially in onedayers but was he someone a captain could rely on in test cricket !!! I wud not pick him as a batsman above kallis or even Justin Langer or Kevin pieterson, who has already played 3 test more than Lehmann !!!

Even young Kumara Sangakkara wud b higher

Who Cares, Bangalore, India

He is saying the players that he played with and against, not what the stats and other people say. Australia has been the best teams in the world for years and will prob go down as the best team ever, yet some of you are saying that it isn't fair that its players are being ranked over countries that struggle to play in aus?

I'm not saying his list is perfect but it's what he thinks having played against these players which all of you havnt .

He is the greatest bowler/player of all time, for those of you that would say Murli is better, all you have to do is look at the pitches and teams that he has got most of his wickets on. When he comes to aus he does is worry the lower order.

John, Melbourne,

Warney, you have failed to prove that you have a cricket brain as far as the players are concerned.
Let's have your thoughts on the best sledgers. Ranatunga at no. 1 for rattling the whole Aussie nation not just their cricket team(except the aboriginies!!)

Saghir, London,

Talk about bitterness about Steve Waugh! I think even Lehmann himself would be embarassed to be ranked where he was.

What was worse Shane - the fact that Steve got the job you wanted or that he did a better job than you ever could have?

Shane Warne. Cricket abilities from God, brain from God knows where.

James O'Hara, Preston, UK

Hi Warne, I have been your great fan and I feel that you are the greatest spinner the game of cricket produced. But sorry to say that I am not convinced with the Top 50 rating of yours. You have put some of the great players at the bottom and some ordinary players on higher ranks, which reflects that the rating you have given lacks thought and depth. Kindly rethink, its a poor reflection of your observation about cricket.

Akhouri Nishant Kumar, Delhi, India

Why don't you just give Warne an article where he can claim Steve Waugh should never have even played for Australia?
Hey Warnie we know this comes down to one thing. Steve Waugh captained Australia and you didn't. And you know what must hurt you even more? He did a better job than you would have. Can you give Steve Waugh a right of reply so that he can state that he wouldn't have drawn his first series as captain ('99 Aus vs WI), and Lara wouldn't have made half the runs he did, if Waugh hadn't had to play Warne?

Steve, Sydney, Australia

"He (Darren Lehman) had the same qualities as Brian Lara in his pomp, hitting brilliantly square of the wicket, and improvised brilliantly in one-day cricket."

You're kidding right???

Sachintha, Kandy, Sri Lanka

Are Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar & Brian Charles Lara there ??? if not then I guess Warne need a check up

Happy, Delhi, India

How many Australians are in the last 30 of his list? 11 out of 30 are Australians, it is just bogus and biased list and some of them haven't played international matches?

If you put Waqar, Kapil Dev, Kallis, Pollock, Saeed Anwer, Yousuf, Pietersen and Akhtar so low then its Just typical Australian mentality thats all. Good going, my guess for top 5:

1. Warne himself
2. McGrath
3. Pointing
4. Gilchrist
5. Hussy

ha ha ha I bet I will at least hit three targets from my guess.

Jawed Ali, Karachi, Pakistan

Here's what I think will comprise Warnie's top 10:
Sachin
Ponting
Lara
Murali
Wasim
Curtly
McGrath
Mark Taylor

and perhaps: VVS Laxman, Azharuddin, Inzamam or Miandad
Ponting/ Murali/ McGrath/ Sachin to be 1.

Anirvan, boston, USA

This is the stupidest top 50 I have ever seen compiled. I think it would be a good idea to compile a list of the dumbest 50 cricketers of all time. I am sure Warne will be in the top 5 of that too.

Jam, hwew,

Warney, I think you left out a few German backyard cricketers from your mum's home town. No wonder the list didn't look right!

Tan, Brisbane, Australia

Warnie I believe that you are only entering this article for the sensationalism attached, I guess this article is more similiar to your extra-mural/marital agendas rather than your cricketing ability.

Steve, Auckland,

i agree, how can u rate Darren Lehman better then kallis, saeed anwar and steve waugh? kallis it a great batsmen and a good bolwer while anwar was a good opener. steve waugh was a good captain and one of the finest batsmen aussies have produced. Lehman? nothing.

Santino Corleone, london, england

This list is a joke. I wont be too surprised if his buddy Merv Hughes is 1 on the countdown.

Shoaib, Detroit, USA/MI

although many of warney's selections semm at best controversial, at worst motivated through past personal baggage, i find it amazing the sheer passion and virtriol that his opinions elicit. in a way it must be highly flattering, as is it proof of teh intense fascination that his thoughts provoke. any lesser crickerter would find his opinions on a top '50' barely make a blip on the international cricketing radar. (having just re-read my comment, apols for all the typos but I'm simply too drunk to bother with any corrections)

JB (made in derby, uk), Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Lol..it definitely is impairing ur judgement..ur better off making plans for germany and beer mate..Steve Waugh and Waqar lower than Fleming and Merv Hughes...U may be the best leg spinner mate but this defies logic..

Hussey, Sydney,

sorry warnie but maybe if s waugh (26 what a joke, 25 - DL!, 24 - BL please stop you're killing us!) was about for 2005 ashes the outcome may have been different. mental strength and self belief went missing for a bit there.

rl, london,

I think Shane Warne is building this list according to his personal interactions with players all over the world. If he can put Steve Waugh (The most successfull Test Captain) on 26th and Muhammad Yousaf (The best Batsman and highest runs scorer) on 28 and the one of the best Left hand opening batsmen (Saeed Anwar - Also holding the higest oneday score) on 28th, I dont think people would agree with Shane. Big names like Kevin Peterson, Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis and the fastest bowlers like Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar have been placed under 20. I think Shane has out of his mind while making this list. Brotherly Advice to Shane: Dont indulge your head in work that you dont understand. And I must say Murli should be ahead of Warne in this list if this continues.

Asfandyar, Islamabad, Pakistan

sorry mr warne but your top 50 ranks as bad as your bowling average against INDIA. i think that STEVE WAUGH was one of the GREATEST player the game has seen.i would take STEVE WAUGH in my team then any player in the world including TENDULKAR or anybody else.by the way i am an indian cricket fan i always wish india had a player of his mental toughness.

dan patel, south padre island, texas

Guys, of course this list is bias. As any of our list would be. This is a list based on players that Warne played with and against (and how they perfomed against him and Australia). Obviously he is better equiped to rate Australian player as he played every match with them. However he can only go on an opposition players performance against Australia as a judge as this is his opinion not what the stats say. So the fact that Waqar only took 30 wickets against Austalia in 24 innings might give some insight into why he's rated like he is. Great bowler, but against Australia (how Warne can rate him) not that great at all.
Pollock the same (Bowling Ave 16 runs worse against Australia), Donald (53 wickets in 28 innings) likewise. It's not to say all these guys aren't great players or that Warne doesn't think they are great players, it just that he doesn't rate them as highly as others. From some of your reactions you would think that Warne had said that they were ordinary cricketer

Nick, Melbourne , Australia

Shane's opinion is Shane's opinion...but it sucks! Good for Aus that he was never their captain. Shane's analytical abilities seem, let's see, nonexistent!?

Sandeep, Houston, Texas

Ravi Shastri and Lehman in top 50 and Ganguly is not in 50...you must be kidding Warney.How many runs did both these guys scored(in both forms of cricket) in compare to Ganguly, Warne??Oh Shane, sorry,you are right..when you came here in 2001, your team faced a lot of chin music from Ganguly and you lost the series...am i right?That's why he is not in your list. Some of your rankings are also not correct.So sorry to say from 11 to 50, there are lots of players who might not be included in top 100. Any way, i would like to see 1.Lara 2.Sachin 3.Ponting as a top three batsman in your list.

Samik , Vizag, India

I think you're right that Stevo is a "match-saver" - but guess what... if you look at all of your 50 there arent many batters who'd do it so alarmingly regularly like him. Surely top-15 all time batter Warnie.

HK, san francisco, ca

australia will never produce waqar younis that you know. thats why you are showing your frustration. that's normal? A man who has best strike rate in the history of test cricket. warne you are jealous.

Shahzad Mehmood, swansea, UK

Very...... very...... interesting, Love to see the full list. got any German players mate.

Palitha, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Warnie just mite have shot himself in the foot here..not nearly the great thinker i thought you to be! jus one cas ein point; Steve at 26??? your just jelous arent ya? Entitled to your own opinion ofcourse, but really..My significantly insignificant opinion is that you wouldnt have been half the captain Steve was! And as a Gentlemen, you not worth the earth he treads on!

Jeevs, Colombo, Sri Lanka

I'm pleased that the wonderful Martin Crowe is in the top half & look forward to seeing that the great Sir Richard is in the top half-dozen.

Michael Gibson, Wellington, New Zealand

i totally disagree with his rating. lehmann hasn't performed upto the expectations as he did in domestic, so i will not include him in the list, muhammed yousaf i will rate him in top 20 at least bcz he is a classy and stylish batsmen. i will rate waugh a bit higher bcz of his captiancy and his acheivement as a captain. and after all i rate warne in top 30 bcz he plays along with mcgraugh, fleming and jason who already do enough damage so nothing more left for warne to do. any way murali is the best and his average per teast is more than 6 as compare to warne who's is around 4.5

khuram, SUNDERLAND, UK

Shane Warne was easily one of the greatest minds to have ever played the game and his 50 list is offering an interesting insight into what he thought during the years he played international cricket. This is not an ICC or a Wisden ranking. This is an international player's personal opinion and we should see it as that. If he ranked Kapil lower than Harmison that's because he played Kapil when his powers had waned and also because he played Harmison when he was at his best. He saw Darren Lehmann and Brian Lara from a much closer distance and with a much better understanding than us spectators and he only said they had qualities that were similar. I cant believe people are getting so worked up about one man's personal opinion. It was shameful to see newspapers in India reporting about the fact that Kapil Dev was ranked lower than Steve Harmison without understanding the context of the rankings. Go on Shane! I cant wait to see your top 5. Ricky,Sachin,Lara,Akram and Glen is what i expect!

Ganesh, Bangalore, India

Warnie has gone nuts....he thinks lee has done more than waugh !!! shoaib akhtar is better than Kapil dev !!! what are u thinking warnie... will you finally publish a 10 point criteria u used to select these players...

ansh, New delhi, India

warnie i agree that mark tylor left a great team for stevi but i think he is one of the bst captain off alltime and he should be higher in this list..............about yousuf i think he is a great batsman and should also be higher atleast higher then lehman

Mohammad saad, london,

Sweet. What's Warne been smoking now? I want that stuff.

Kapil Dev, Wasim Akram, Steve Waugh deserve to be in the Top 20.

1. Sachin
2. Lara
3. Steve Waugh
4. McGrath
5. Murali
6. Ponting
7. Rahul Dravid
8. Wasim Akram
9. Pollock
10. Kapil Dev

Jim Strokes, Glasgow, UK

Shane ,Goodness sake Brett Lee above Steven Waugh . I think u had issues with Waugh .Better Change it to Top 50 favourite cricketers.

Harish Bharadwaj, Chennai, India

I am bemused by all these comments from people questioning Shane Warne's judgement. No one who is making comments here has played international cricket so I think that Shane Warne is in a better position to judge.

While I don't agree with every ranking he has made, I respect Warne's opinion as one of the sharpest cricket minds the game as seen in the past 50 years. Warne was voted as one of the 5 cricketers of the century and along with his skills as a bowler came an amazing cricket brain and one of the best captains I have ever seen, unfortunately due to his indiscretions he was never going to be given the Australian test captaincy, not because he was lacking the necessary skills.

Warne is sharing his opinion based on what he has seen and experienced in ODI, test cricket and first class cricket so I think he is in a better position to judge as opposed to blog commentators who watch the game on TV and have never played cricket with or against any of the players in question

kurtrudder, bagdad, tasmania, Australia,

It's simply untrue that Waugh was a match saver rather than match winner. Of his 32 test centuries, 30 were in the FIRST INNINGS and almost all resulted in Australian wins. He also scored at a very healthy lick in spite of his slightly awkward style and eschewing of the hook shot and played a string of remarkable match (and series) turning innings - 1989; 200 against West Indies; twin Old Trafford centuries; batting through a day with Blewett against South Africa etc etc

Darren, Harrow,

i guess part of warney's intentions r to raise a few eyebrows with each of his list coming out everyday.maybe warney's just wants to have a good laugh with this list. rather than being curious about which player will top the list, its become whats todays surprise...
in the above list its definitely a certain mr. waugh being listed behind darren lehmann & brett lee. if he was to rank only these 3 players, then his list would look like
1.brett lee
2.darren lehmann
3. steve waugh

something definitely odd about that, maybe its the pot.

apurba, mumbai, india

Remember Younis struggled against Australia... he was always injured.

Woody, Perth, Aust

Whatever Warne writes - has to be taken seriously !
He is a cricket god you muppets.
I eagerly await the top 20.

Chris Giles, Perth, Australia

i think he has just pleased his own soul to introduced such a biased list plus i think he does not feel good if his action does not create any controversy or not criticised. i think he loves that and we should give him what he wants.. criticism

m waugh, sydney, australia

I have to agree with Dene - except i don't find warne to be very interesting personally nor do I gain any new insight into his opinions - it is simply biased opinions of a great cricketer.

If there is any downside at all - it is that these opinions will most likely be quoted in pubs and cricket forums for years as insightful or evidence for an argument but we have to form opinions from somewhere.

That doesn't mean it is not interesting, nor that i am not interested to see his top 20 - I am!

Luke M, Bulawayo,

i will rate Brian Lara to be No1 he is the best stylish batsmen i have ever seen. if he would have been playing for counties like India, Aus or Eng he would have created more records.

Danny, Sydney, Australia

It is clear that Warne uses a number of different characteristics when rating players.
The things he considers are:
1. How much he likes the person.
2. What influence they had on his career.
3. Whether they played a style of cricket that he likes I.e. imaginative rather than boring.
4. Their ability

He considers them in that order, therefore someone like Lehman, who he likes a lot and was a player who's style he liked a lot rated higher than Steve Waugh who was boring to watch and he probably did not like that much.

The list should not be taken seriously, it is just some fun. It is interesting to read Warne's opinions on different players but we all know that Kapil Dev was a far better cricketer than..........

Rupert, Melbourne, Australia

A few years I checked the first-class batting stats. Ponting and Lehmann had the best averages and the best innings/hundreds ratio in the world. People who saw him always raved about Lehamnn. He just got a very raw deal from the Aussie selectors. Lee's rating however is a joke.

jay, london,

Steve Waugh should be higher mate..... !!! cos i think he was a good batsman......and the qualities in him are to be fully admired.... So he should have been higher i guess !!! Jealousy is one thing i hate the most.... And people shouldn't consider those factors when announcing such crucial things that affect the persona of a person in a negative way....Steve 's way above ... and the rating should have been higher considering the fact that he was also a captain and the world have had witnessed the attitude that he has utilized in the bizarre situation of various matches played and also considering him as a batsman !!!

David , Mumbai , India

So far so good Warney. I agree with the Donald and Waqar positions. I always felt that if I could hang in there long enough, then both of them would drop their bundle sooner or later. Don't know about Steven below boof though. As a selector I was always disappointed with Boof's lack of quality performances at test level. Especially 2005 Ashes. Looking forward to seeing who your greates fast bowler is. I found Curtley the most difficult to face.

Alan Border, Brisbane, Queensland

so if there's only 20 left .....then who out of the following are worse cricketers than the likes of Darren Berry, Jamie Siddons,Tim May etc?:

McGrath
Warne
Hayden
Border
Chappell G
Ponting
Hussey
Gilchrist
Waugh M
Marsh R
Lillee
Jones D
Healy
Viv Richards
Curtley Ambrose
Courtney Walsh
Malcolm Marshall
Joel Garner
Andy Roberts
Clive Lloyd
Lara
Tendulkar
Dravid
Kumble
Hadlee
Botham
Barry Richards
Murali

etc etc etc

I love you Warney but come on mate.....your having a laugh aren't you???

D Hirst, Sydney, Australia

Warne's abilities as a cricketer cant be questioned. But all through his sordid life he has shown that he is too less a man. What is the intention of this ranking exercise? As I see it, its merely for Warne to get back at those who he never liked. He has been kind to those who praised him in public or those who were close to him. Ranatunga has no place in his list - but far lesser captains and players do. Waugh was not a great captain because his side was great anyway? Well, if anything, it only vindicates Australia for not having made Warne the captain for such narrow views on captaincy. Dravid must have captained India much earlier - taking a potshot at Ganguly who clearly miffed him more than once. He has talked of Lehman as a great player of spin - perhaps he has forgotten Navjot Sidhu who badly exposed him.His ratings of fast bowlers shows how little he knew of bowling other than spin.One can expect other surprises in the top ten - but really should we care?

Manchi, Bangalore, India

My guess,,,the next 20 would be among the following 23( not necessarily in the same order but top3 will probably be correct..)

Mcgrath
ponting
Tendulkar
lara
Gilchrist
Hayden
Dravid
kumble
saqlain
Murali
Ambrose
Walsh
Healy
Flintoff
Akram
Desilva
Gooch
Sangakkara
Richie Richardson
Mark Taylor
Inzamam
Graham Thorpe
Bishop

Prasanna S, Bangalore, India

I thot i understood warne's psyche..thats why i said the other day Steve Waugh would be his top man..but WHOA.. this is something different.. it would be interesting to see the last 20 now.

Samarth, East Lansing, United States

I was actually looking forward to Shane Warne's top 50 and felt he was a good ambassador of cricket and his career spanned between the sea change of cricket, he was a player in the Javed Miandad/Kapil Dev Era right up until playing alongside Kevin Pieterson. I was looking for some good discussion topics and maybe a hint of controvesy, however in my eyes Shane Warne has lost all credibility when he selected Stephen(the yips- Harmison as several places above Waqar Younis I believe Warne is only trying to justify their Ashes defeat. Waqar had 10+ better performances in series than Hramisons 2005 Ashes, also he didn't shy away from a challenge and wasn't a reluctant tourist or suffered from yips at the sight of an ozzie batsman. Warne wouldn't place Paul Collingwood Above Steve Waugh so how Harmison is above Waqar is beyond me. All I would put to shane is , on any wicket in Australia or England and fighting to save a match or follow on, who would you rather face.

Shazad Suleman, Glasgow, Scotland

I think its great that we have someone givings us their opinions and ratings of people he played with and against.

I find it a lot more interesting than people crying endlessly about some statistic they found.

I wonder where VVS Laxman will be rated???

adam, Sydney, Australia

I have enjoyed reading Warney's views on his pick of 50 great cricketers. Could someone add the eras in which these greats palyed? K. S. Raman, Bangalore, India

K. S. Raman, Bangalore, India

Booowwwlinnnggg Shaaaaanne!!! C'mon Warnie!! Surely Steve Waugh is higher than that, especially since (so far) you have mainly picked contemporary players. I can’t see that you wouldn’t have Steve Waugh higher than that!!

The figures say it all:
Test matches 168
Runs 10,927 at 51.06
Catches 112

Plus if memory serves me right there was the odd test wicket as well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Greeny, Tamworth, NSW Australia

They are massive calls Warnie. I agree with your comments on certain players but I disagree with your allocation and rankings. Steve Waugh was a fighter and sorry to say, Australia would never have pasted the super six stage in the 99 cup if it wasnt for him. If Waugh isnt no.1 then he should be at least 2nd.

Rhys, Emu Plains, NSW

I've always been the first to fight Warnie's corner in my local but this list is a complete joke.

It's not even a discussion point!

Bye Shane!

Charlie, Reading, UK

Sure Warne will have great admiration for the English. The fact is, it is the useless English batsmen who made him a great bowler. Imagine the likes of Murali, Abdul Qadir, Bedi, etc playing England 5 times every 2 years.

Murphy, Brisbane, Australia

Brett Lee above Steve Waugh??!!!

- Bowled Warney

Peter, London,

Warney - I respect your choices in this list and loved watching your bowl (and bat for that matter), but you obviously have a gripe with Steve Waugh for some reason - he got the captaincy ahead of you perhaps? Darren Lehman was a good player, sure, but he was not half of what Steve Waugh was. You say Steve wasn't a match winner - how about the whole Ashes series in '89, his 200 against a mighty West Inideis team at Sabina Park in 95 to win the series for Australia, his hundred against South Africa in the World Cup semi-final in 99, need I go on?

SteveWaughLover, London,

Top 50? Not much of a methematician Waney

Barley, N, Shrewsbury, England

The comedy continues....

Steve Waugh would be in my top 15... it seems Warnie has a grudge against the guy... Steve's captaincy changed the Australian side.

And Lehmann gets a spot better than him !

Once again, so far all the pace bowlers mentioned by Warne are not in the same league as Waqar.
Brett Lee has still a lot to prove.
Shoaib Akhtar can only dream of being considered in the same league as Waqar

Suhaib Jalis Ahmed, Manama, Bahrain

When we all understand Warnie is not the sharpest knife in the draw, and has a habit of having a bigger mouth than his brain is capable of handling.

He is just a average Aussie, with an phenomenal talent for spin bowling. He is not a rhodes scholar of cricket.

Why every cricketeer thinks he can be a journalist is just beyond understanding, and it is about time, we all get over the comments of RETIRED sometimes bitter Cricketeers.

Jasper, Melbourne, Victoria

Steve Waugh at 26??
What would a German know about cricket anyway!

CBC, Sydney, NSW

no comparison between jacques kallis and shaun pollock. jacques should have been placed higher 27th problably in 10 to 20.

haidarali, PUNE, INDIA

There must be a lot of West Indians in the top 20 because there haven't been any so far and they have had some outstanding players.

tim, new york, u.s

why is Waqar Younis so low? He is so much better than brett lee or any of theses bowlers on the list and steve waugh,jaques kallis and anwar are better than lehman, if lehman was so good, why wasn't he picked for more tests?

rory, devon, england

Hey Warne....

Please can you tell me whats your place in this list compare to this 50 greatest players??????????

Roshan, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Darryl Cullinan at number one????

Andrew, Calgary, Canada

i think navjot sidhu and sachin tendulkar ( who hits a lot to warne ) will be on rank..............................?

jag, brampton, canada

niranjan swaminathan (alias niroojai70) has made a valid point. in other words - match saving is no less important than match wining, although wining looks glamorous.

j. chimpoo, kodaikanal, tamil nadu

I second the thoughts expressed by WG Grace. Wonder on what basis Lehman could be better than the magnificient, extremely talented Kallis, who always played to his potential and was the back bone of many, many famous victories South Africa has ever witnessed.

Perhaps, this could be Warne's personal choice; we can none about this.

Sachin Kapil Dev, Irvine, CA/USA

Lets be honest- were all a bit dissapointed with the selections so far- (Well i am ) but whats important is who will be the Top Ten - after much thinking (10 seconds?) for ME the top ten has to be (based on the rest of his list)- Warne will pick

Lara, Mcgrath, Tendulkar, Akram, Ponting, Murali, Inzi, Taylor, and the other 2 - im stumped! MAYBE Miandad - Ranatunga - - Goughy? as a joke? HAHA and i dunno maybe an obscure person we will think NO WAY! But definately the 8 above! Either way- im upset that Yousuf was so low- and AKHTAR above Waqar! Wat dream world........

Mohammed Ullah, Manchester, England

In Oz we always knew Warnie didn't like Steve Waugh - jealousy seemingly a factor as Warnie wasn't made captain when Taylor packed it in (and how could Warnie be captain after the Indian bookmaker episode - and later the drugs suspension). Of course some of his selections are ridiculous (eg Brett Lee better than Younis - he can't be serious - Brett Lee wouldn't make the top 100) but always fun to discuss these things in the pub. How can pptkmp say Warnie is the greatest all rounder ever - Warnie wasn't even an all rounder. Gary Sobers is head and shoulders above everyone as the greatest all rounder. In fact, I reckon he is the greatest cricketer ever - above the Don who never took a wicket (I think).

Trevor Snape, Sydney, Australia

Hostile Hostile.. Since this is about Warneys Lists, Arjuna Ranatunga should be in his top Ten.. Not for his exceptional cricketing skills, but for his ability to get on warneys "nerves" .. Would Murali be in his top 5? thats something to ponder...

Rick, Colombo, Sri Lanka

TIM MAY..you got to be kidding me. Still cannot digest that one

Sujay, Pit,

hi guys shoaib above waqar younis he must be having a laugh and i dnt understand the steve waugh saga maybe its a bad vibe that he didnt get the captains role and kp still has to prove himself in test cricket

aamar mahmood, slough, uk

Looks like Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara will have to be content with a tie.

Valmik Desai, Washington DC, USA

Warney, you disappoint me with your view of Tugga (maybe too influenced by Ian Chappell?), not so much the ranking, rather the description.

Sure he inherited a very good team, but he made it a great one!

What about his match winning digs in the Windies in 1995 and the World Cup in 1999?

If he is as average as you suggest, why have him in the Top 50? The fact you have written a defensive response tells me you are not entirely comfortable with your own assesment.

PS - Why have Siddons and Chuck Berry? They've played as many tests as me!!!

Byron Cooper-Fogarty, London, UK

This is a disrespect to Steve Waugh who was the greatest captain of Australia. The good times of australian cricket started with this captaincy. You must be kidding to rank him at that position. Boooooohhhhhh

Tina, Melbourne, Australia / Victoria

In my opinion, Shane has the right to have his own opinion. Being anywhere in the top 50 is recognition of a fantastic career

JeffK, Lara lake, Victoria, Australia

Brett Lee? Ahead of Steve Waugh? Which sport are we talking about?

Tim Vogel, Wellington, New Zealand

Haha,

This list a joke !!! .. A typically biased list.... Wonder what Lehmann has done to earn a spot in the list

Samir, Corvallis, USA

How many of these people whining about Lehmann's position actually saw Lehmann batting in his prime?

His innings for Australia were all played when he was WELL past his best. In a forum such as this, I don't expect people to actually know what they're talking about, but if people haven't seen what Warnie has seen then how can they take umbrage with his opinion?

And that's all it is anyway ... an opinion. Forgive me if I rate the opinions of one of the greatest bowlers in test cricket slightly higher than all the nobodies voicing their 'expert opinions' here.

Nathan, Adelaide,

You got the Lehmann ranking bang on. He was a superb, natural batsmen, massively overrated. I think Brett Lee is ranked too high though.

Bring back Jason Gillespie, Nhulunbuy, NT

Warney must be having a blast doing this.. just think how boring this list would have been had warney just selected it based on expected lines

Rohit Sen, Singapore, Singapore

Darren Lehman !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In top 30 !!! Thats a biggest surprise of all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No way he can be in top 30. There are more accomplished players than him !!!!

Satya, Des Moines, US/IA

Typical Shane Warne insecurity, a great player but thank god you were never captain, your ego would have destroyed the team over the long term.
As for Steve Waugh, his best quality was his ability to save games and fight even when it looked hopeless but he also had many other great qualities. He changed the way the game is played and took a good Australian team and set it up for long term greatness.

Ben, Sydney,

Who would you rate higher in terms of looks out of Martin Crowe and Stephen Fleming?

Mark, Wellington,

I am very curious as to where he places Matt Hayden. On his day the purest hitter of a cricket ball I have ever been lucky enough to have seen. A totally different sort of person and player to Warne but going by his list so far that does not prevent him ratin people highly.

BornCynic, Brisbane, Queensland

Some disagreements are expeted when compiling a lits of 50 but who is Bruce Reid and Tim May? Shoib Akhtar better than Waqar Younis who had best Strike rate per wicker ever? Saeed Anwar worse than Darren Lehman? Lehman whose Leg stump was often seen flying against express fast bowlers! Warne! please concentrate on SMS messages, U do a far better job there. Its Getting boring- I bet Tendulkar who has won nothing for India would be placed somewhere at top as he scored millions of runs against Warne.

KiwiRocker, Wellington, NZ

sure its warnes own opinion...but last time i checked...i think they have to make SOME logical sense!!!

Pardeep, Brampton, TORONTO, CANADA

Steve Waugh behind Darren Lehmann????? I CAN'T BELIEVE IT

Faisal, Montreal, Canada

The problem with a heap of these responses is that they ignore that it's Warney's opinion. It's not a definitive list. Naturally he will rate some blokes who succeeded against him higher than some others, with better ovreall records, who didn't do so well in or against Australia. Waqar and Donald are cases in point. They were fine bowlers, but really, if you watched what they did against Australia, especially in Australia, you'd regard others as better bowlers. Bear in mind that for many of these players, that's exactly what Warne is going by.

Burgey, Sydney, Australia

To Andy London
For Aussies to be knighted by the queen, his/her name would have to be put forward by the Aussie PM of the day (as in the case of Don bradman and Joan Sutherland). Aussies did away with royal honours in the 1970s so, no, Liz won't be knighting Warnie unless he becomes a UK citizen

Jennifer, melbourne, australia

To Andy London
For Aussies to be knighted by the queen, his/her name would have to be put forward by the Aussie PM of the day (as in the case of Don bradman and Joan Sutherland). Aussies did away with royal honours in the 1970s so, no, Liz won't be knighting Warnie unless he becomes a UK citizen

JMB, melbourne, australia

Please dont put Lara in the list...he is too good a batsman to get into this farce Mr.Warnie...what abt Arjuna Ranatunga who battered u all over the park? remember the interviews? and well...u can certainly put the 2 most over-rated souls of cricket history in the top2...Sachin tendulkar and Shane Warne

NervousWaters, Calcutta, India

aussie greats:
#1 The Don
#2 Ricky
#3 Pigeon
#4 Steve
#5 Mark
...
...
...
#77 Warnie

The Real Ranker, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Pompous German goat. As a bowler, I can appreciate his bowling genious and majesty. As a person, he is a clown.
PS. I am Australian.

Dirk Wellham, Sydney, Australia

Never mind all the recent - cricket has a long history like any sport and the best so far are long gone- Gary Sobers,Wes Hall,Charlie Griffiths,Alvin Kalicharran and I'll put Warne up there.

grass cutter, Lancs,

"Mark Taylor handed him a wonderful team"- Indeed he did. The team's skills were further sharpened by Steve. Apart from that, Steve was also an exceptional batsman. Im stung by Shane's rating of Steve. Probably the statement "Steve Waugh handed Ricky Ponting a wonderful team" would be more appropriate. Lets watch where Shane fits Ricky.

Rakesh Rajagopalan, Chennai, India

Probably, the only two guys who have dominated Shane like no one else are Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar. Those two are a class apart and shouldn't be compared to anyone else, not even Ricky Ponting, as neither Brian nor Sachin enjoys the luxury and warmth of having as many back-ups as Ricky does. I sincerly hope Shane would rate them in the top-ten, if not 1 and 2.

Subha Rakesh, Bangalore, India

Oh and Stephen Fleming should be massively honoured to be only 1 spot behind Martin Crowe, not annoyed!!!!!

Byron Cooper-Fogarty, London, UK

Of course Asian cricket fans are going to argue that their players should be ranked higher as you have probably seen every match they have played in whereas we only see them when they play against Australia. Equally you have not seen every match Stuart McGill has played in. He is a great bowler and had he not been a contemporary of Warne's would have featured in many more tests. Warnie is choosing his top 50 based on his personal experience. Just enjoy it for what it is and don't take it too personally!

JMB, melbourne, australia

Warnie still resents Waugh because : 1) He wanted to be captain, but Waugh was chosen. 2) Waugh was part of the panel that justifiably dropped him for a test in the West Indies Waugh has the stats in both batting and captaining. Warne was a good bowler against tail enders but wasn't as good as McGrath against top batsmen or India. Let it go Warnie.

Tom, Sydney,

Poor guy needs some attention. And, he never is popular for positive attention -he doesn't know anything about it. Texting and boosing are old tricks. Newspapers are not into that anymore if it is from him. It is a new trick. I think the clueless cricket world will react to it and this guy will get that desired negative attention.

Rama Prasad, Chatswood, Australia

On ya Warney give it to all of these guys, hope you can fit Deno, Merv and Flem in amongst these last 20. Proud Victorian

Andrew Paddle, Melbourne, Australia

My guess is that warney will rank ponting at no. 1. Gilly would have to be up there as well.

Rhett, Perth, Australia

Jacques Kallis only 27 ?? His batting alone should be in the top than 10 and then add to that over 200 test wickets plus his slip fielding and you've got properly one of if not the best allrounder ever to play the game.

Shaun, London,

Every time Shane Warne seems to be losing the lime light he throws comments into the media to try and pull back the attention to himself. Shane never seems to be able to live without attention. GIVE IT UP BUDDY!!!!! Your good, I would even go to say that your great but just because you never really had a chance to caption the Australia team (besides the off match or two) does not mean that you can disrespect Australia's greatest caption and the fact that your bowling record will likely be killed off soon by the greatest spin bowler ever from Sri Lanka does not mean that you should talk down other bowlers who are arguably better than you. If you do decide to put yourself up there in the number 1 position perhaps you should mention.... "…great bowler perhaps due to the assistance of diaretics and constant womanizing and swearing..... maybe you could also add one player that did great damage to the sport of cricket" Time to learn that you need to GIVE IT UP BUDDY!!!!

James Lee, Singapore, Singapore

I am bemused by all these comments from people questioning Shane Warne's judgment. No one who is making comments here has played international cricket so I think that Shane Warne is in a better position to judge.

While I don't agree with every ranking he has made, I respect Warne's opinion as one of the sharpest cricket minds the game as seen in the past 50 years. Warne was voted as one of the 5 cricketers of the century and along with his skills as a bowler came an amazing cricket brain and one of the best captains I have ever seen....unfortunately due to his indiscretions he was never going to be given the Australian test captaincy....not because he was lacking the necessary skills.

Warne is sharing his opinion based on what he has seen and experienced in ODI, test cricket and first class cricket.....so I think he is in a better position to judge as opposed to blog commentators who watch the game on TV and have never played cricket with or against any of the players in question

Kurt Rudder, Bagdad, Tasmania, Australia

i'm not really surprised tht some relatively ordinary aussie nd english names feature in tht list............ u've gt 2 give him tht liberty... he's an ozzie.... u cant xpect him 2 b objective......
but, wht is surprising is tht he thinks gooch nd lehmann are better than steve waugh................
wht's nxt................. gatting in th top 10 ahead of ponting, or mayb smthing even more bizarre...

kinshuk, bombay, india

Loving the list, but I wonder whether I can find a German translation of this list anywhere. After all, isn't Warney hoping to become a German citizen so he play cricket with you boys... Nah, just kidding Warney, you're alright. ;P

Paul, Victoria, Australia

So Lehmen is supposed to be better than Steve W..Warnie tell me you are kidding..Puhleeze

AMB, London, UK

Shame Mr. Warne, your Aussie bias is a astounding as your legbreaks were. How you worked out that 'tubby' Lehmann, with a batting average of 40 odd is a better test cricketer than Jacques Kallis who has one of 55 plus 200 odd wickets is mind boggeling. Perhaps all the years of snogging in the dust from the rough outside leg stump has befuddled your judgement. Now be a good little leggie and go to the bathroom, take a cool, damp face cloth and wipa dat dust froma your face...ok

Mike, Victoria, Mahe - Seychelles

hahaha..Goodness me. I m sure warne that u r drunk or on bed wityh tara reid. How the hell u can place akhtar, lee, mcdermott and even donald better then waqar. And u can't even compare mcdermott or lee with donald.OK, i agree if waqar at 45 then place rest of the queens land players from 1 to 44 and at 46 rank the lehends like marshall, Imran, hadlee, tendulkar, akram, lara, richards etc etc. Grown up boy grown up. Wether its sharjah or perth, Lara or any tail hander, one day or test cricket, old ball or new one, wether filders support or not, wether the baysman hitting boundries or at defense, wether county cricket or test, odis, waqar will just uproot the stumps. Have u forgotten austral asia cup where ur great a border was motion less against him. Bowlers like Mcgrath, pollock can't pick 3 wickets in last overs where 2 runs r required. And Can someone has ever higher % of lbws or bolds...reverse swing, indippers, yorkers,toe crusher, most 5vers..almost better then u shane

Ali , Lahore, Punjab

I dont think its fair to say that the Aussies are jealous of Pakistani players and thats why Waqar Younis was rated in the 40's. I know for a fact that one of Shane's most favourate cricketers was a Pakistani for whom he has alot of respect and I wouldnt be surprised to see him in the top 20. The name is Abdul Qadir, the leg spinning magician!

Amer Siddiqui, London, United Kingdom

Come on warne, Its just 50 Players, Hurry up. How long do u need..

Sunny, Brisbane, Australia

I just do not understand why are so many people upset. Warne was a great bowler, but by any standard he does not qualify to have a sound mind and judgement. Do you need to be reminded all his sexcoholic behaviours? Isn't he the bloke whose wife divorced him for sending peverted texts and........? So why are putting so much importance on Warne's opinion? This list is another proof of his imbalanced state of mind. Bottom line: great players do not necessarily have great minds

Zid , London,

Steve -- 26 Shane????? Remember these list World cup 87, Ashes 89, Jamaica 94, Old Trafford 97 world cup 99 (against SA, australia were dead w/o him on the group stage). These are all matches "won" by him and not "saved" What happened? Still sour grapes of 99 WI tour mate???? Legend like him dont come quite often

Krupa, Woburn, US

Wait a minute these were supposed to be 50 greatest cricketers - I can count 33 so far and I guess there are 20+ to go. There must be something wrong with my couting ......

Naveed, Rhode Island, USA

i am one of his ardent fans.... but cant buy his arguments and his list of cricketers surely.. arguably one of the greatest bowlers to have played the game.. but not the greatest student of game i suppose

Ganesh, Chennai, India

Shane, Goodness Gracious Brett Lee above Steven Waugh. OK Mate I think u had issues with Waugh .Please change the topic to Top 50 Test Cricketeers.

Harish Bharadwaj, Chennai, India

I think Shane Warne will be # 1

Phalgun, Houston, Texas, USA

There's nothing that a couple of cold one's(may be a few) and a couple of lap dancers can't achieve, what an incredible list.. Mate i have immense respect for you and your achievement, but just on Steve waugh being your choice of the 26th greatest player......you gotta be joking. With 15 successive match wins....you need an incredible leader as a captain to achieve that and not just incredible players.....my point is that i think he deserves a higher ranking...may be up in the top 10 at least. I'm glad this list is coming from you......cause i can afford to have laugh.

Mahesh, Perth, Australia

clearly Warnie has not attained any wisdom in retirement

Mary, Sydney, Australia

Oh my, how Shane Warne's judgement has been circumspect on many occasions over the years. Now with this list he is once again displaying his poor judgement when it should count the most. He has listed players who couldn't even make their own national teams and he has put some up the list who couldn't make their own country's all star teams. As for brushing aside Steve Waugh with a curt line about how Mark Taylor handed him a great team, well, what can I say, other than that Shane must have been texting on his mobile for half the action in which Steve Waugh made his mark as one of Australia's very best captains.

John, Victoria, Australia

Top 10 will include sachin, lara, mcgrath, ponting, akram, Border, murali.... n might be ambrose

Dinesh, Cardiff,

He may have been a great bowler, but I am afraid I cant say the same about his judgment of talent and performance. The rankings are clearly influenced by his personal likes and dislikes. There is a message in here for the ACB in case they are thinking of offering Warney any administrative position like a selector or something in the future. He may be good at breaking stumps and breaking beds, but his talents don't extend to much beyond that.

Sanjiv, Bangkok, Thailand

Warney I hope you slot yourself in somwhere in the top 5 - because that's where you should be in the cheme of things.
So far I think you've been pretty fair with your top 50 and it will be interesting to see the remainder. In my book you are by far the top cricketer to date and a match winner to boot. Thanks for the entertainment

Tony fellows, Birmingham, UK

THIS IS Warne's understanding - I wonder [some may differ on ranking] his CRTICISM on so many players on various issues. Well done. Hope other greats will do the same - of course impartially. It does not matter whether the ranking is up to what you like, but the KEY is he tried to reflect his mind and I feel he is impartial in his approach. It's not so easy task to rank like this. And he is trying - that's a brighter side... Salute for the cricketers who entertain us so deeply. Keep well.

ATIQ, Bangladesh, Dhaka,

warne, this list is ridiculous.

amar mahmood, london, london

Pathetic fat fool - I've no of Steve Waugh, but never doubted his leadership - he deserves better than this sledge from the man who couldn't succeed him because of his mum's drug advice.

tandah, Redfern, NSW Autralia

Those 2 chicks that appear with Warne in that video will be No. 1 & 2

Richard, Sydney, Australia

This just proves once again you don't need brains to be a successful leg spin bowler. Great cricketer that he is, this fool isn't smart enough to put grudges behind him to make a logical decision. Putting Steve Waugh where he has means this list can't be taken seriously. His record speaks for itself.

Dan Jackson, Richmond, Australia

cant believe pollock is down there.
waqar either. agree totally w WG Grace.

haynes, Ann ARbor,

Steve Waugh 26, not a match winner!! Have you forgotton the '99 World Cup? Besides being the most sucessful ever captain he is the 4th highest run scorer of all time. Brett Lee isnt even in the top 100 cricketers and only survived because Glen McGrath was at the other end taking 5 for 10 off 30 overs. Also, I think you have Darren leeman in the wrong list, top 50 eaters of all time is next week.

Brad, Perth, Australia

best

I'll explain this very slowly for you before your minute brain explodes: Warne has already listed Jayasuriya at about 39 and is yet to complete the list.

Then again, if he has any fortitude he won't list Murali.

murph, London, UK

So it is at least a top 53 now?
If two guys are equal 27th, the next best is 29th. And so on...
But onto cricket matters, I love the debate these lists spark. Keep it up, looking forward to the top twenty and the outrage it will no doubt produce. Is the list inclusive of the author? If so, that is going to be the most interesting selection of all.
(Gilly number one for me)

Tim, Melbourne,

Warnie's comments about Steve Waugh may be somewhat coloured by the fact that Waugh was chosen captain ahead of Warne, something he never quite got over.

Stuart James, Sydney, NSW

I think it is a fair call to have so many Australians in the top 50 as they have dominated both formats of the game for the last 15 years. However, I am somewhat surprised he rated Darren Lehman ahead (given that he has played only 27 tests) of Steve Waugh. Does he have an axe to grind against his ex-captain?

Martin, London, UK

At the end of the day, people (especially fans of Asian cricket it seems) are taking this far too seriously - this is a bit of fun with Warney picking players he feels are best from his experiences as a player. He isn't the greatest all rounder ever (in my view that was Sobers) but he is undoubtedly the greatest leg spinner the game has ever seen, and deserves great credit for all he has done for the sport and especially Hampshire. Good on you Warney!

Phil Clark, Southend, England

tugga at 26 is not justified. Waugh was the most influential player under Taylor. Guess captaincy given to Stephen rather than himself was the reason for the lowly ranking. Waugh's a legend here in India.

Vishal, Mangalore, India

australia will never produce waqar younis.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poor australians!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shahzad Mehmood, swansea, UK

Warne...you are the luckiest cricketer as you never had to bowl against the aus team. you only had to play against a sliding windies team and the cellar dwellars poms. Your selections are as wrong as your wrong un - good luck to you for picking your mates in higher ranks...objectivity is not your forte.

CS, Sydney, Australia

Warney stick to bowling & not judging batsmens. You seem to forget the countless matches that Steve Waugh has won for Australia. I see a lot of resentment in your comments. Is it because Steve Waugh was chosen to Captain Australia instead of you?

Vinny, Sydney, Australia

Warney

You've just slipped to number 2 behind Steve Waugh at the top of the collective list in Australia. Ability is great but integrity goes a lot further down here, mate...something Steve has in spades...as for you, well keep the list coming I'm sure you'll put yourself at number 1.

Michael Stuart, Sydney, NSW

shane you should be a comic ha ha ha ha

d clarke, montreal, canada

Warnie is still a legend. This list keeps people talking about him all around the cricketing world.

As for his rankings..... they are neither here nor there, but it is fun to listen to a sportsman give their honest opinion.

Mark, Brisbane, Australia, Queensland

Steve Waugh, "he was a match-saver rather than a match-winner".
Err, World Cup 1999 Super Six Match against South Africa; his 200 against the West Indies in 1995; his 2 hundreds against England at Old rafoord in 1997.

Rajiv Radhakrishnan, London, UK

Where will Phil Tufnell rank?

Peter, Melbourne, Australia

well naturaly this list will be much hyped since its warne who is doing it, but you have to say it is realy not a proper list by any means.

but its always intresting to see what one of the grestest bowlers in the game thinks of others. There will definitly be huge intrest to see the top 10

My predictions are

1. Bradmen
2. Murali/Warne
4. Viv Richards
5. Garfield Sobers
6. Macgrath
7. Brian Lara
8. Sachin Tendulkar
9. Ricky Ponting
10. Imran Khan

Lashan, Colombo, Sri Lannka

What everyone forgets its his opinion and in the words of a long forgotten wise man, opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one, wise up everybody did you expect anything else than controversy, Warney will be having a beer and chuckling at you all

john, durham,

Ha ha ha ha - the laughs are coming in abudance but I am still not able to stop my blood boiling up!

Steve Waugh not appearing in top 15, rather appearing below Darren Lehman and Brett Lee! Guess Steve Waugh has not returned to Warne what he borrowed!

Ahmer, Manchester,

Surely this is a beat-up to stir some controversy and sell papers. Warnie never could stay out of the headlines for long, on or off the field. If Kapil Dev wasnt better than number 40 (and Harmsion, Lee and others) then Sir Don wont be number one either. Actually that wouldnt surprise me, since he didnt go out drinking with you every weekend, like some of the other "great" cricketers.

Dave, Brisbane, QLD

won't Warney put Warney at #1?

Russ, Shenyang, China

all you guys complaining are fools
this is his opinion and of course it is going to conflict with others.

you are all welcome to start your own top players list, speaking from your own experiences in your armchairs

trusno1, Sydney,

Warnie KP has shown in 2 years wat lehmann did do in a lifetime lehmann scored most of his test runs now scoring tons against the hapless west indian attacks as for as pietersen he scored runs against australia, pakistan with akhtar n asif ,srilanka(with murali) yet acc to u lehmann is better than KP.

vineet, bangalore, india/karnataka

GiGo. Garbage in, garbage out. You rank Steve Waugh lower than Brett Lee; go home mate. You have just moved out of my top 100. I had you right up there for judgement before you came up with this rubbish. No more pickle. No more. And how you justify Waugh's rank is even more shocking. He was no less a match winner than you. His contribution was through the players. Thats what captains do. They lead. Steve Waugh was a better cricketer, a better captain (wait, you never were a captain), and a better person than you ever will be. Go and read 'Out of my comort zone'; you could learn a thing or two. And clearly this is not your cup of tea. I dont think there are very many people who would agree with the rankings. Why bother Warney. Stick to playing and shooting your mouth, aviod the writing.

What Was Warne Wearing, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

I think the reason he put Shoaib in 20s and Waqar in 40s is because of one ODI match performance in which Shoaib ripped thru the top order of the formidable Australian batting in 2002. I would rank Muhammad Asif higher than Shoaib.

Waqar was a sensation especially in his early years when he was simply unplayable. Warne has not watched Waqar in those years on the feild. Imagine the WC1992 campaign with Waqar at his peak. In my opinion, the "two ball" rule in WC1992 was started to kill the reverse swing that Waqar had so successfully demonstarted over those last few years before WC1992. He would win matches for Pakistan single handedly. He was the fastest to reach 200 wickets. Arguably, no bowler was as devastating as Waqar in his early career until his speed was reduced. After the speed reduction he transofrmed into another type of swing bowler, where he maintained his strike rate. Warne has said that Shoaib is a crowd puller, I think Waqar was a bigger crowd puller.

Faisal, Santa Clara, CA USA

I agree with Mr.Warne (the world's greatest spinner has to be addressed as Mr.) that Stephen Waugh cannot enter the Top 20 because he was limited stroke maker and did not look pleasing to the eye. However I disagree with him placing Kallis BELOW S.Waugh and placing Lehmann ABOVE S.Waugh. Something wrong there.

Sai Prakash, Bangalore , Karnataka, India

Warney, you are the greatest cricketer of recent times so I hope you have put yourself at the top of the list. However , you have had a shocker over Steve Waugh. The only reason he is not in your top ten is because he got the aussie captaincy ahead of you. Your comment about Mark Taylor handing him a great team is fully loaded...

MG, Wimbledon,

Good on ya Warney. Fantastic to see somebody making a top 50 list from their own perspective and not worrying about being politically correct. Gives us a better insight in how you perceive other cricketers, rather than basing it on statistics only.

Ari Maxwell, Auckland, New Zealand

warne mate your spot on there every one of those spots is on the money. i wonder where you will put daniel vettori? i say #8 at a guess. murilitheran 5 and number 2 warne and 1 ooooooh 1........ oh i guess we will see. actually i think you would be 1 if only your batting was stronger. i think gilchrist #1 definately hes a machine. great keeper and amazing batter.

chad, christchurch, new zealand

I dont agree with his analysis. Its just the list of those players with whom he had some good acquaintance and when he ranked steve waugh low, it confirmed my opinion. Why because Waugh was named as captain ahead of him after Mark Taylor and how did he say that Mark has handed him a wonderful team. I remember that under Steve's captaincy only, Aussies began to dominate the world cricket and even a child knows this. How many wonderful knocks he had played during his entire career? This list is a bullsome trash. He wont like some aggressive cricketers like Ganguly who answered him with his 144 in Brisbane when shane commented about his batting. But I really surprised to see Waugh in 26th place. I am sure he is a legend and one of the great players who have left their influence on the world cricket. He stood Aussies as the World Champs and what they are enjoying now is just because of him and because of his tough character and steel heart .

Tejasri vinay kumar, Eluru, India

Hi Shane,

As you are an Aussie I can imagine the South Africans wouldn't feature too highly on your list. I know this is about more than stats but really! Kallis averages more than Flintoff by 20+ runs per innings and has taken more wickets at a better avge. There are only 2 players that have scored 6000 runs and taken 200 wickets! Kallis has 8500 and the other is Gary Sobers. Flintoff has 3000 runs. And lets not talk about Pollock who has double the number of wickets of Merv Hughes and averages 30 with the bat.

shane, london,

Any player than can consistently score runs under pressure is a great player be it saving a match or winning one. Steve Waugh in my book is a far better player then Darren Lehman hands down. I guess since Warnie did not play against Waugh at the test level thats why he has mis judged his talents. I never thought of Lehman as more then a workman like batsman and putting him ahead of players like Waugh, Saeed, Kallis and Yousaf is baffling.

Aashan Haider, Islamabad, Pakistan

As an Australian , I find the rating of Steve Waugh as fraudulent and can only assume your jealousy of not getting the captaincy overrules your judgement ; but then again , you were a wonderful bowler , not batsman . And a very opinionated one , nothing wrong with that , but perhaps not the person to produce a balanced view . I will look with interest to see where Stan McCabe is . If he is below your mate Pietersen , you are kidding

Phil Crane, Sydney , Australia

I guess damien martin would come ahead of ponting...why ??? who cares.........azharuddin ahead of sachin.....why ??? go figure out man......gillespie ahead of Mcgrath.....why ?? gillespie had the guts to play in county.......chanderpaul ahead of lara.......why ??? god shane said that to me in my sleep.....flintoff ahead of botham......why ??? look at kapil dev !!!!
i totally agree with Shane Warne.....why ??? while shane seems to have a great mind....i have lost mine.........

sam, bangalore, india

throw some ortho legbreaks warnie than these googlies and Doosra's

imtyaz, Jammu, India

Hello Warnie, let's be bit more objective, mate. I am not a hater, but come on we know you love your team mates. I bet you made the list after your 14th beer that night. I have never seen Brett Lee terrorize a batting line-up, neither I have witnessed David Boon dominating any series. Shoaib Akhtar has single handedly won test series. Saeed Anwar, Waqar, and Kallis in the low 20s. Give me a break, please!

Seeko, Mississauga, Canada

i must say aravinda de slva must b among the top 10 sharne... also captain of legend ranatunga wer??? compare the records of aravinda and ur team mates...
murali---1,sachin-2,ponting--3,wasim--4,lara--5.
imzi,macrath,yousuf,waqar,andyflower,cronje,sunil and U

jordy, melbourne, aussie

Look at all these people complaining about Warnie's picks. Wake up to yourself. He's picking "match winners" not "match throwers".

5-0

I rest my case.......................

Tim Hale, Brisbane, Australia

dear warne,
I am not pleased about your list. Tim May better than Cairns & Waqar?

Adnan, Rajshahi, Bangladesh

mark waugh often used to say match saving is equal to match winning.so how can warne say steve is a match saver.if he is a match saver obviously he is a match winner.

swaminathan n, chennai, india/tamilnadu

Everyone's entitled to their opinion 'Warnie' and you can argue the pro's and con's to the cows come home. No two people would reach the same conclusion on the world's greatest 50 cricketers.

Ron Cousins, Happy Valley, South Australia

This is Shane Warne's 50 Greatest List. Who the hell said any of you have to approve?

Davo of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee better than Kapil Dev and Waqar Younis? you must be potty. Darren Lehmann better than Saeed Anwar? dude I don't know what you've been smoking, but its impairing your judgement.

akram, London,

Warnie,
If Lee and McDermott are better than Waqar and Donald then I guess you are better than Murli and Wasim as well....

Khurum Khan, Belfast, UK

Farcically biased. Brett Lee better than Shaun Pollock? Lehmann better than Anwar, Kallis and Yousuf? I still haven't got over Tim May either.....

WG Grace, London, England

Lehmann, Fleming and bloody Lee ahead of Waugh? Spare me. How many of these guys won or saved matches compared to Waugh? Short memory Warnie. Get ready for some shockers in the top 20. Hooper, Harris and Jonty perhaps?

Nick, Somerville, Vic OZ

God, Warnie, love yer but you are a goose, mate. A hugely entertaining one though. ha ha

Jack, Sydney, Australia

Chill man these are all based on HIS experience with them. It is not about who is better and whose worse. Its about how they fared against HIM. Wayy to go Shane.

Arsh, Auckland,

Good stuff Warner, always willing to have your say, I do consider S.Waugh an Aussie legend, his 120 versus Sth Africa in the 1999 Super Sixes was awesome and a match winning performance and his 200 against the W.I in 1995 to finally give us the Sir Frank Worrell was equally so. However, near the end of his career he definitely played to save his career as evidenced by his extremely dour 90 versus England in Melbourne and then watchful but essentially brilliant (and then attacking) virtual 100 in a session in Sydney to save his career. I would put him higher because he was able to fight throughout his career to achieve what he did. I wonder you you have in store for us now.

Julies, Galway, Ireland

Warne struggled in the one-day game. Glen McGrath was a far better all-round bowler. Steve Waugh was a better one-day bowler . Thats just my opinion. Warne is welcome to his even if they are completely baffling and hopelessly biased.

Andrew, Sydney,

Cant wait till the full 50 list come...m really impressed with Shane's analysis.....He is a great thinking Cricketer and has analysed the game and the players from the closest quater....great compilation by this greatest spinner the game has ever seen....However here is my guess on his Last 20-

Tendulkar, Lara, Ponting, Gilchrist, Mcgrath, Wasim Akram, Muralithran, Flintoff, Mark Waugh, Dravid, Kumble, Hayden, Rhodes, Mark Taylor, Ambrose, Inzamam, Aravinda Desilva, Shane Bond,

Siddharth,