Year 2016 was probably one of the best year for cricket fans as well as for players because of peak form of some great international players which made many people to watch ODI cricket throughout the year. It was the time when our modern favorite players was at their prime form of their life but now in 2023, most of the cricketers who we used to idolised are becoming older day by day and the day is not far away for their retirement. Therefore, let’s have a glance on players who scored most ODI runs in 2016.
5 Best Players Who Scored Most ODI Runs In 2016
1. David Warner
The aggressive and fearless batter, David Warner who thoroughly ruled one day international cricket in 2016 with his back to back hundreds owns the record of scoring most ODI Runs In 2016. Warner made 1,388 runs out of 23 matches in the year including 7- hundreds and 4-fifties with the tremendous average of 63.09 per inning.
2 days back a friend of mine asked while watching Warner’s 2016 ODI highlights and asked How does he able to scored 7 centuries in one single year? The answer was pretty simple I guess, I said he may not perfect in terms of book cricket which emphasize on foot work but he achieved excellence when it comes hitting out side off stump balls with fearless approach.
Warner’s ODI cricket graph was going pretty well till 2018, but later when the sandpaper incident came out it changed his game and his way towards approaching his favorite sport. Undoubtedly he is one of the best left handed batsman of all time be It Test, ODI or T20I he left his marks in every format.
If we talk about his dominant area of scoring runs, majority of the peoples thinks he is a leg sider batter which is completely wrong, how can you forget his destructive cut shot and lofted cover drives which he mainly known for. A player cannot reach great heights on international level without playing in every area of the ground.
2. Steven SmithÂ
Imagine starting cricketing career as a leg spinner and becoming best test batsman of the era. We are talking about Steven Peter Devereux Smith who is known for his unorthodox technique and weird stance, yet he scored 1,154 runs in 26 ODI games with 3 hundreds and 7 fifties and became 2nd player in terms of having most odi runs in 2016 year.
I may ended up having no words to praise this man for his achievements especially when life gave him a setback where he has to stay away from his beloved sport. Moreover, There is always talks going on about his grip, batting stance, and playstyle and he proved absolutely wrong to all those peoples who says you have to follow book cricket technique to become best.
If we look at his best ODI inning of 2016, it came against New Zealand where he smashed 164 runs with his unorthodox shots in almost every area of the ground. I still remember that inning because of his stupendous six against Trent Boult where he literally came on 4th stump to hit the ball and executed pretty well.
3. Quinton De Kock
There was a time when Quinton De Kock used to compared with Virat Kohli and even some people made predictions that he may break the 100 centuries of Sachin Tendulkar, we are talking about when he was at peak form when he scored 857 runs in 17 matches with 3-centuries and 3-half centuries in 2016 ODI calendar which made him to enter in the list of most odi runs in 2016.
South African lefty, who made pretty good impact in ODI cricket especially against India and Australia. I still remember De Kock scoring 3 back to back ODI centuries in 2013 which gave him quite good attention and respect in world cricket. When I see him batting he looks like mixture of ODI and T20 batsman, whenever he wants at any stage he can change his batting style from passive to aggressive.
Have you ever watched his 178 runs innings against Australia in 2016? You will think that you are watching a video game. Aussies bowlers like Cummins, Hazlewood, and Marsh were looked hopeless in that game because of Quinny’s extraordinary knock with some crazy slog shots and pull which he usually plays.
4. George Bailey
Current Chief selector of Australia and former player, George Bailey who is popular for his weird stance which goes across off stump before even delivering the ball, regardless of his batting stance his performance was incredible in terms of scoring most runs in 2016 ODI where he played 27 matches and made 808 runs with pretty decent average of 36.72 runs.
Furthermore, Bailey is the only player who has the lowest average in this list of most odi runs in 2016, that’s because 2016 was his debut year as well where he got the Australian ODI cap in march 2016 and gave quite decent performance if we look from debut player perspective.
5. Joe Root
World knows him as one of the best test player in current generation, but not to forget his incredible records of One day international cricket. Joe Root now might not play white ball cricket to manage workload of test cricket but have an eye when he thrashed 796 runs in 15 ODI games with exceptional average of 61.23 in year 2016.
Unarguably he has the perfect technique and class which we can see when he plays his strong back foot punches and cover drives with his full flow of bat aligned with his head and elbow which is actually treat for eyes to watch. One more thing which I want to share, I personally feel Root looks equally good as Virat Kohli when he plays cover drive, I mean it’s so satisfying to witness.
Conclusion
Therefore, these are our top 5 players who in terms of scoring most ODI runs in 2016 calendar, You might be thinking that I missed one player in this list isn’t? If you are a Indian cricket team fan you’ve already know he is Virat Kohli, the reason behind his exclusion from this list is because he played only 10 matches which is far less from all the above player which leads to getting less opportunities to score but still he made 739 runs in 2016 ODI cricket.
