Most ODI tons at No. 5 or below

England captain Jos Buttler ended his team’s poor run of form with century in the latest ODI against South Africa on February 1. After losing the opening two matches and a series, England avoided a whitewash with Buttler and Dawid Malan smashing big hundreds.

Buttler, batting at no.5, scored 131 off 127, to help England post a big total and bag both Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards. This was his record eighth ODI hundred while playing at no. 5 or below position. So, let’s take a look at the top three cricketers with the most ODI tons while playing at no.5 or below positions.

3. 6 Tons – AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan, Andrew Symonds

Only six cricketers have scored six or more ODI centuries while playing in no.5 or below. AB de Villiers made a big impact in world cricket with his style of play across formats with a 50-plus average in Tests and ODIs. He scored 25 ODI centuries, with six of those coming while playing in no.5 or below.

Australia’s Andrew Symonds, who passed away in a car accident last year, scored six hundreds in ODIs and all came while playing in no.5 or below. England’s all-time leading ODI run-scorer, Eoin Morgan also registered six of his 14 centuries while playing in no.5 or below in ODIs.

2. 7 Tons – MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh

The former Indian captain guided India to the 2011 ODI World Cup win with a match-winning knock. He dominated ODI cricket with over 10000 runs with ten centuries, out of which seven came while batting at no.5 or below. Yuvraj Singh, one of the most decorated match-winner for India, also smashed seven centuries while playing in no.5 or below.

1. 8 Tons – Jos Buttler

Buttler scored 94* in the recently concluded away ODI series against South Africa. But he managed to score a century in the following game to register his eighth ODI hundred while playing in the no.5 or below. He surpassed retired Indian stars MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh and is likely to add more tons in the upcoming matches.