Tailenders often don’t get to bat a lot. But when they do get a chance, it’s either because their entire team’s top order fails or just for a few overs towards the end of their innings.
So you won’t see tailenders piling up a lot of runs, with only a handful managing to score over 1000 runs.
On that note, here’s a look at the tailenders with the most runs in ODIs.
Most ODI Runs by Tailenders
| Player | Inns | Runs | Avg | HS | SR | 100s/50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Vettori (ICC/NZ) | 157 | 1735 | 17 | 83 | 84.46 | 0/4 |
| Chaminda Vaas (Asia/SL) | 185 | 1716 | 14.42 | 50* | 71.2 | 0/1 |
| Wasim Akram (PAK) | 135 | 1617 | 15.25 | 79 | 78.68 | 0/1 |
| Mashrafe Mortaza (Asia/BAN) | 146 | 1610 | 13.41 | 51* | 84.07 | 0/1 |
| Heath Streak (Afr/ZIM) | 100 | 1600 | 24.61 | 79* | 73.93 | 0/7 |
| Shaun Pollock (Afr/ICC/SA) | 97 | 1421 | 23.29 | 66* | 85.24 | 0/4 |
| Lance Klusener (SA) | 49 | 1415 | 64.31 | 83 | 91.64 | 0/10 |
| Rashid Khan (AFG) | 85 | 1329 | 18.45 | 60* | 101.6 | 0/5 |
| Chris Woakes (ENG) | 71 | 1237 | 23.78 | 95* | 89.63 | 0/5 |
| Harbhajan Singh (Asia/IND) | 122 | 1222 | 13.88 | 49 | 81.68 | 0/0 |
| Abdul Razzaq (PAK) | 64 | 1189 | 27.02 | 76* | 94.66 | 0/5 |
| Prosper Utseya (ZIM) | 120 | 1129 | 14.85 | 52* | 55.28 | 0/1 |
| Mitchell Santner (NZ) | 64 | 1126 | 29.63 | 67 | 91.76 | 0/3 |
| Brett Lee (AUS) | 103 | 1121 | 18.08 | 59 | 82.85 | 0/3 |
| Daren Sammy (WI) | 68 | 1092 | 25.39 | 84 | 99.54 | 0/5 |
Key Insights on Tailenders with Most Runs in ODI Cricket
Most Runs and Century Records by Tailenders in ODIs
New Zealand’s Daniel Vettori has scored the most runs as a tailender in ODIs, with 1735 runs batting at No. 8 or below. (Check out the top run-scorers in ODIs here.)
Only two batters have scored a century while batting at No. 8 or below in ODIs. Ireland’s Simi Singh was the first with an unbeaten 100 off 91 balls against South Africa in the 2021 Dublin ODI. Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Miraz became the second tailender, scoring an unbeaten 100 off 83 balls against India in the 2022 Mirpur ODI.
South Africa’s Lance Klusener has smashed the most fifty-plus scores as a tailender in ODIs, with 10 knocks in 49 innings.
Heath Streak (Zimbabwe), Abdul Razzaq (Pakistan), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Daren Sammy (West Indies) and Chris Woakes (England) are the other tailenders with five or more fifty-plus scores each in ODIs.
Highest Batting Averages and Strike Rates as Tailenders in ODIs
Klusener also has the highest batting average as a tailender in ODIs, having scored 1415 runs at 64.31 in 49 innings (minimum 25 innings batted). No other tailender averages above 40.
Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi has the highest batting strike rate as a tailender in ODIs, having struck at 144.17 while accumulating 891 runs in 42 innings (minimum 500 balls faced).
Andre Russell (West Indies), Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka), Liam Plunkett (England), Thisara Perera (Sri Lanka), Lance Cairns (New Zealand), James Faulkner (Australia) and Rashid Khan are the other tailenders with strike rates above 100 in ODIs.
Most Fours and Sixes by Tailenders in ODIs
Vettori has struck the most fours as a tailender in ODIs, with 140 boundaries coming off his bat.
Pakistan’s Wasim Akram (56), Bangladesh’s Mashrafe Mortaza (55) and Sammy (50) have smashed 50 or more sixes while batting at No. 8 or below in ODIs.
Most Runs by Venue, Series and Calendar Year as Tailenders in ODIs
Shaun Pollock aggregated 779 of his 1421 runs in South Africa. This is the most runs by a No. 8 or below batter at home in ODIs.
Klusener (765 in South Africa) and Vettori (714 in New Zealand) are the other two tailenders with 700-plus runs at home in ODIs.
Woakes, meanwhile, has scored the most runs as a tailender in away ODIs, with 705 runs in 39 outings.
New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner has aggregated the most runs as a tailender in a bilateral ODI series. He scored 216 runs in four innings in the 2018 home series against England.
Bangladesh’s Mashrafe Mortaza scored 482 of his 1610 runs at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. This is the most runs by a tailender at a single venue in ODIs.
Vettori (vs Australia) and Rashid Khan (vs Ireland) are the two tailenders who have scored 500-plus runs each against an opponent team in ODIs.
Heath Streak has scored the most runs as a tailender in a calendar year in ODIs, with 429 runs in 15 innings for Zimbabwe in 2001.
Wasim Akram aggregated 1208 of his 1617 runs at No. 8, the most by a batter in this position in ODIs.
Mortaza, meanwhile, has collected the most runs as a No. 9 batter in ODIs, with 701 runs in 72 innings.
Pakistan’s Waqar Younis has scored the most runs as a No. 10 batter in ODIs, with 478 runs in 63 innings.
Trent Boult has scored the most runs at No. 11 in ODIs, with 176 runs in 43 innings for New Zealand.
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