The Golden Bat is one of the most prestigious award in cricket. The Golden Bat winner is the top run-scorer in each ODI World Cup. Because the World Cup is only held every four years, most batters only get one or two chances to capitalize on this opportunity.
Every team selects the top players for their World Cup roster. That means the race to become the Golden Bat winner began here and will continue until the World Cup final. Batter has to score in every game to take the top spot on the World Cup scoring table.
Glenn Turner of New Zealand was the first winner of the Golden Bat in 1975. He received this award after scoring 333 runs in the tournament. Sachin Tendulkar is the only batter to have received two Golden Bats. He reached this milestone in 1996 and 2003. Rohit Sharma scored 648 runs to win the Golden Bat in the ODI World Cup 2023.
| World Cup | Batsman | Runs | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Glenn Turner | 333 | New Zealand |
| 1979 | Gordon Greenidge | 253 | West Indies |
| 1983 | David Gower | 384 | England |
| 1987 | Graham Gooch | 471 | England |
| 1992 | Martin Crowe | 456 | New Zealand |
| 1996 | Sachin Tendulkar | 523 | India |
| 1999 | Rahul Dravid | 461 | India |
| 2003 | Sachin Tendulkar | 673 | India |
| 2007 | Matthew Hayden | 659 | Australia |
| 2011 | Tillakaratne Dilshan | 500 | Sri Lanka |
| 2015 | Martin Guptill | 548 | New Zealand |
| 2019 | Rohit Sharma | 648 | India |
| 2023 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Read More: Golden Ball winner in ODI World Cup
Glenn Turner – Golden Bat Winner in 1975
Glenn Turner is the first batter who won Golden Bat. He scored 333 runs with a batting average of 166 in only four games for New Zealand. He smashed two centuries against East Africa and India.
| Mat | 4 |
| Runs | 333 |
| HS | 171* |
| Average | 166.5 |
| SR | 68.51 |
| 100 | 2 |
| 50 | 0 |
Gordon Greenidge – Golden Bat Winner in 1979
Gordon Greenidge from West Indies scored the highest runs of 253 in 04 World Cup matches and won the Golden bat. He hit a century against India at Birmingham and 02 fifties in the 1979 World Cup.
| Matches | 7 |
| Runs | 384 |
| HS | 130 |
| Average | 76.8 |
| SR | 84.95 |
| 100 | 1 |
| 50 | 1 |
David Gower – Golden Bat Winner in 1983
David Gower from England won the Golden Bat in 1983 by scoring 384 runs in seven matches with a batting average of 76. This includes a century against Sri Lanka at Taunton.
| Matches | 7 |
| Runs | 384 |
| HS | 130 |
| Average | 76.8 |
| SR | 84.95 |
| 100 | 1 |
| 50 | 1 |
Graham Gooch – Golden Bat Winner in 1987
This is the second consecutive year that an English player won this title. This time, Graham Gooch outranked all batters to become the top scorer of the event. He scored 471 runs in eight matches with a batting average of 70 and a century against India at Wankhede Stadium Mumbai.
| Matches | 8 |
| RunsDescending | 471 |
| HS | 115 |
| Average | 58.87 |
| BF | 670 |
| SR | 70.29 |
| 100 | 1 |
| 50 | 3 |
Martin Crowe – Golden Bat Winner in 1992
Martin Crowe from New Zealand won the golden bat in the 1992 World Cup. Although Pakistan was the winner of 1992 WC, but Martin gets the top spot by scoring more runs than Javed Miandad. He succeeded in scoring 456 runs in nine matches with a batting average of 14.
| Matches | 9 |
| Runs | 456 |
| HS | 100* |
| Average | 114 |
| SR | 90.83 |
| 100 | 1 |
| 50 | 4 |
Sachin Tendulkar – Golden Bat Winner in 1996
Sri Lanka was the winner of the 1996 ODI World Cup, but the highest run scorer was an Indian batter. He was none other than Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 523 runs in 07 ODI matches with a batting average of 87.
| Matches | 7 |
| Runs | 523 |
| HS | 137 |
| Average | 87.16 |
| SR | 85.87 |
| 100 | 2 |
| 50 | 3 |
Rahul Dravid – Golden Bat Winner in 1999
India could not win the world cup in 199, but Rahul Dravid batted so well that he became the top scorer of the tournament. He scored 461 runs in 08 matches with a batting average of 65. He scored two beautiful centuries against Sri Lanka and Kenya.
| Matches | 8 |
| Runs | 461 |
| HS | 145 |
| Average | 65.85 |
| SR | 85.52 |
| 100 | 2 |
| 50 | 3 |
Sachin Tendulkar – Golden Bat Winner in 2003
Little Master and Cricket God Sachin Tendulkar made history by becoming the World Cup’s Golden Bat for the second time. India won the award for the third time in a row.
He scored 673 runs in 11 ODIs, with a batting average of 61. This is the highest score by any batter in a single World Cup.
| Matches | 11 |
| Runs | 673 |
| HS | 152 |
| Average | 61.18 |
| SR | 89.25 |
| 100 | 1 |
| 50 | 6 |
Read More: Most centuries in ODI world cup
Matthew Hayden – Golden Bat Winner in 2007
Despite winning five ODI World Cups, Matthew Hayden is the only Australian player to have won a golden bat. This year, Australia’s batting lineup crushed every bowling attack.
During the World Cup, Matthew Hayden had multiple match-winning innings. With a batting average of 73, he scored 659 runs in 11 ODIs throughout the World Cup. During this World Cup, he scored three centuries against New Zealand, South Africa, and the West Indies.
| Matches | 11 |
| Runs | 659 |
| HS | 158 |
| Average | 73.22 |
| SR | 101.07 |
| 100 | 3 |
| 50 | 1 |
Tillakaratne Dilshan – Golden Bat Winner in 2011
Indian team won the title in 2011, but Tillakaratne Dilshan from Sri Lanka scored the highest runs and won the golden bat. He scored 500 runs in 09 World Cup matches with a 62 batting average. Below are his complete batting stats:
| Matches | 9 |
| Runs | 500 |
| HS | 144 |
| Average | 62.5 |
| SR | 90.74 |
| 100 | 2 |
| 50 | 2 |
Martin Guptill – Golden Bat Winner in 2015
Martin Guptill won the golden bat in 2015 by scoring 547 runs in 09 ODI matches with an outstanding average of 68 and strike rate of 104. Overall, 02 Centuries and 01 Fifty is also part of Guptill’s 2015 World Cup journey. Martin Guptill became the second batter to score a double hundred in the ODI World Cup.
| Matches | 9 |
| Runs | 547 |
| HS | 237* |
| Average | 68.37 |
| SR | 104.58 |
| 100 | 2 |
| 50 | 1 |
Rohit Sharma – Golden Bat Winner in 2015
Rohit Sharma won the golden bat in the 2019 ODI World Cup. He was at the peak of his career and scoring at every venue and conditions. In this World Cup, Rohit Sharma shows why people call him the hitman of cricket.
He became the top scorer of the 2019 world by scoring 648 runs, which is third highest in a single World Cup. He hit five centuries during this World Cup against Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, England and Bangladesh.
| Matches | 9 |
| Runs | 648 |
| HS | 140 |
| Average | 81 |
| SR | 98.33 |
| 100 | 5 |
| 50 | 1 |
Which Team Has Won Most Golden Bat in ICC ODI World Cup?
India has won most Golden Bats with the help of their three batters, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma.
Kiwi has won this award three times: Glenn Turner(1975), Martin Crowe (1992) and Martin Guptill in 2015. The English team has two Golden Bats, that was won in 1983 by David Gower and in 1987 by Graham Gooch. Although Australia has won most ODI World Cups, only Matthew Hayden was the top scorer in the 2007 ODI WC.
| Team | Number of Golden Bats |
| India | 4 |
| New Zealand | 3 |
| England | 2 |
| West Indies | 1 |
| Australia | 1 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 |
Who Will Win Golden Bat in 2023 World Cup?
There are many contenders for Golden Bat in the 20223 WC. However, a few players stand out and have a good chance of being the top scorer. India’s Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill, Pakistan’s Babar Azam, Australia’s Steve Smith, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, and England’s Jos Buttler all have a better chance of winning the Golden Bat in the ODI World Cup 2023.
