5 players with most consecutive ODI innings without a duck

Consistency is the key to batting in any form of cricket. Concentrating on ODIs, who do you think are the top five batters who have a run of innings without being dismissed for a duck?

Names such as AB de Villiers, Dean Jones, MS Dhoni, Kumar Sangakkara and Sourav Ganguly are all close but haven't made the top five. The person at the top of the list went 120 innings between ducks. Who could it be?

The players on the list have amassed 1,341 ODI games among them. All of them have captained their respective countries on numerous occasions. In the list, there are players who have represented Pakistan, West Indies, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia and India. You will have noticed that there are six countries and only five players on the list. It should help to identify one of the players who has represented two nations in his career.

Let's countdown in reverse...

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#5 Richie Richardson/Mohammed Yousuf - 92

The fifth spot on the list is jointly held by Richie Richardson and Mohammed Yousuf. They have 92 innings without a duck and both finished their careers with this record unbeaten.

Mohammed Yousuf's ODI career started with two ducks in his first eight innings in 1998. In 2000, he would be dismissed five times without scoring, including thrice in ten days against the West Indies.

His final run began in 2005 and included four centuries. His last game was against South Africa in Dubai in 2010.

Richie Richardson's run of innings started in 1990 and carried through until his last game which was the 1996 Cricket World Cup semi-final in Chandigarh. Richardson's 49 not out was not quite enough to win the match for the West Indies as Australia claimed victory by five runs.

He was dismissed for one run on four occasions and was one of Meyrick Pringle's victims at Christchurch in the 1992 Cricket World Cup when the South African took four wickets in 11 balls.

#4 Javed Miandad - 96

Javed Miandad batting in the World Championship of Cricket Final 1984-85

Javed Miandad's 96 innings spanned two Cricket World Cups, including the victory in 1992, with four centuries in the period. Maninder Singh started the run in Sharjah with a caught and bowled dismissal and Ian Bishop claimed Miandad's wicket during the 1992-93 World Series Cup in Australia to end the run.

Miandad's career began in 1975 when he played against the West Indies in the inaugural Cricket World Cup in England. That match was only the 23rd ODI to be played in cricket. His final game, in Bangalore, in March 1996 was the 1,078th ODI game.

Spanning 20 years, Miandad scored 7,381 runs at an average of 41.70 with eight hundreds and 50 half-centuries to his name.

#3 Kepler Wessels - 105

Kepler Wessells shaking Craig McDermott's hand after South Africa trounce Australia in the 1992 Cricket World Cup

The only man in the list that was never out for a duck in his ODI career was Kepler Wessels. In 105 innings, he scored at least one run each time. This ran all the way through from January 1983, on debut for Australia, to his last game for South Africa, against Pakistan.

Wessels' international career took a six-year hiatus when he left Australian cricket in 1985. It was the return of South Africa to international cricket that gave Wessels the opportunity to play on the world stage again.

He only achieved one century, against India in 1984, and scored a total of 3,367 runs at an average of 34.35. He has the highest score on debut, of the five batters on this list, with 79 against New Zealand at the MCG in 1983.

#2 Martin Crowe - 119

Martin Crowe batting for New Zealand in the 1992 Cricket World Cup

An ignominious two-ball run out, against England in Christchurch, started Crowe's 119 innings run. This period also spanned two Cricket World Cups, including the valiant effort in 1992. Only three centuries were scored in this period but the 100 not out, in the first game of the '92 Cricket World Cup, was phenomenal considering that New Zealand's selectors had asked him to resign as captain on the eve of the tournament.

The run ended at Edgbaston in 1994 - a game that I had forgotten I had attended until researching this article.

1992 saw some of Crowe's finest innings, including a marvellous 74 not out in 44 balls against Zimbabwe, and 91 against Pakistan in the semi-final. That innings almost secured a place in the final but a hamstring injury meant that he couldn't take the field for Pakistan's innings and the rest is history.

Crowe played at a time when ODI cricket was in its infancy. From 143 matches, he scored 4,704 runs at 38.55.

#1 Rahul Dravid - 120

Rahul Dravid at the wicket against Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy

The top batsman on this list is Rahul Dravid who played 120 innings without being dismissed for a duck. The period spanned 1999 to 2004 and includes his highest ODI score. At Hyderabad, Dravid scored 153 at a run a ball against New Zealand. His partnership with Sachin Tendulkar added 331 for the second wicket.

During his run, Dravid was out for single figures 22 times but never consecutively. Going past fifty on 33 occasions, he remained unbeaten on 10 of those occasions and notched two hundreds against the West Indies.

Dravid played 344 times for India in one-day games and scored 10,889 runs. He captained India in 79 games and achieved a 53% win rate.

The current best streak is held by Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe but he is some way off the record, with just 69 innings. Rahul Dravid's record looks like it will stay for a considerable time.