Players you thought would make it

[iamdavid]

There was a similar thread to this about 3 years ago only it was the opposite question, hope this one hasnt been made before lol.
Who are some of the players who on first impressions you thought would make it in international cricket, but for one reason or another they didnt ?
For me -

Simon Katich - Had a great head on his shoulders and a solid technique, aswell as an excellent domestic record, he just looked like he had the goods and in about 2001 plenty of people were touting him as a future Aussie captain. And he got the oppurtunities at international level but he just got exposed at crucial moments, perhaps he was a little one-dimensional in his batting methods.

Hasan Raza - His international record dosent show it but everytime I've watched him play he's looked like a very good player, technically solid and he has very sound judgement, showed his resilience against Australia in 2002 prompting Steve Waugh to ask why he isnt in the side every time. Supposedly he's still only 25 so theres still time, I hope he gets a prolonged chance in the side to set things right.

Neil McKenzie - Watching hit bat against Australia in 2001/02, some of his innings were pure class and I was convinced he was there to stay, had all the shots in the book and seemed to have so much time to play them, didnt seem to mind a scrap either as a couple of his better knocks were backs-to-the-wall stuff. Alas he was moved all over the order from opening to number 6, and there was a perception that he didnt handle spin as well as some. He's 32 now so looks destined to finish with a test average of 33.

Alex Tudor - Injuries have really been his curse. Had his eye busted bye Brett Lee at Perth in 2002/03 and I can barely recall seeing his name on a county scorecard since, a shame as he had all the attributes and was highly thought of in both England and Australia. Tall, athletic and naturally quick, he could also jag the ball around off the seam at times and gave the Aussies problems on a number of occasions. Had he stayed on the park longer and had luck go his way I reckon he could have matured into a wonderful bowler for England (doing Harmisons job only better lol).

 

[Pratters]

Brett Schultz
David Terbrugge

 

[Sanz]

Bruce Reid - I think he had the potential to be a great bowler and to be one of the best left armer ever to play the game.

Md. Kaif - Decent technique, good head on his shoulders, great fielder, man for crisis and supposed to have good cricketing brain too, I dont know why he is not in the mix anymore.

 

[silentstriker]

Aakash Chopra
Gagandeep Singh

 

[DCC_legend]

Hasan Raza - His international record dosent show it but everytime I've watched him play he's looked like a very good player, technically solid and he has very sound judgement, showed his resilience against Australia in 2002 prompting Steve Waugh to ask why he isnt in the side every time. Supposedly he's still only 25 so theres still time, I hope he gets a prolonged chance in the side to set things right.

He plays Club Cricket (as a pro) in Northern Ireland now. Just hit 180* in a 50 over game.

 

[Pratters]

Among Indians:

Samir Dighe - I saw him in an exhibition game he played verus Pakistan around 1993 and he was brilliant while keeping. He also played such a crucial role in that test series versus Australia years later.

Ashish Nehra - Had talent but was perenially injured.

Wasim Jaffer - Have been a fan of his forever. Am glad he is coming good now finally and is making it now.

Venkatesh Prasad - He was an intellegent bowler who knew where to pitch the ball and work on his bowling. I never thought that he would be a great or any thing but 33 tests is too little in the end.

v South Africa 6 213 684 25 6/104 10/153 27.36 3.21 51.1 3 1
v Pakistan 3 83.2 210 11 6/33 6/87 19.09 2.52 45.4 1 0
v England 3 142.3 375 15 5/76 7/130 25.00 2.63 57.0 1 0

Shows that he could have done better. Really, some spells he bowled in England, South Africa were brilliant.

 

[Richard]

There was a similar thread to this about 3 years ago only it was the opposite question, hope this one hasnt been made before lol.

Corey actually made both threads TBH... Yes, you guessed it... they both ended-up as Rich-tec wars.

 

[archie mac]

Bruce Reid - I think he had the potential to be a great bowler and to be one of the best left armer ever to play the game.

Md. Kaif - Decent technique, good head on his shoulders, great fielder, man for crisis and supposed to have good cricketing brain too, I dont know why he is not in the mix anymore.

Injuries cost Reid a fine career, agreed he looked the goods

Matt Elliott from Vic/SA I always thought looked the real deal. G. Pollock on watching him for the first time declared he would finish with a Test ave: over 50

 

[JBMAC]

Dirk Wellham...Had serious potential..Fine Cricketer but never "got over the line"..Could have become an Aussie Captain

 

[open365]

Tudour really wasted what talent he had, one of the guys in my cricket team knows him quite well via a relative (he even gets free cricket gear of him) and says he just doesn't try hard enough in the gym or in county matches because he finds playing domestic cricket inferior because he's played for England.

 

[Richard]

G. Pollock on watching him for the first time declared he would finish with a Test ave: over 50

Who'd have thought you'd be 10 runs too low?

 

[Salamuddin]

Md. Kaif - Decent technique, good head on his shoulders, great fielder, man for crisis and supposed to have good cricketing brain too, I dont know why he is not in the mix anymore.

Should be in the Indian test team ahead of guys like Tendulkar and Ganguly.....Kaif has shown he can actually get runs against quality attacks under pressure.

 

[Salamuddin]

Brett Schultz
David Terbrugge

SChultz was very unlucky......From what I saw of him, looked mopre dangerous than ALlan Donald.

 

[Richard]

Should be in the Indian test team ahead of guys like Tendulkar and Ganguly.....Kaif has shown he can actually get runs against quality attacks under pressure.

So have Tendulkar and Ganguly... many more times than Kaif has any chance of ever doing. (yes, it was deserved)

 

[Salamuddin]

So have Tendulkar and Ganguly... many more times than Kaif has any chance of ever doing. (yes, it was deserved)

When has Ganguly ever made runs against a decent pace attack at test level , Dicko?
As for Sachin, it's so bloody obvious he's a walking wicket these days to any decent boiwler.

 

[Richard]

These days (and that's debatable at best). Kaif will never be 1\10th of the batsman Tendulkar was for most of his career.

And Ganguly has made runs against good pace-attacks many times, never more so than very recently in South Africa.

 

[open365]

When has Ganguly ever made runs against a decent pace attack at test level , Dicko?
As for Sachin, it's so bloody obvious he's a walking wicket these days to any decent boiwler.

These days maybe, but for a good 13-15 years he was one of the best.

 

[Salamuddin]

These days (and that's debatable at best). Kaif will never be 1\10th of the batsman Tendulkar was for most of his career.

And Ganguly has made runs against good pace-attacks many times, never more so than very recently in South Africa.

it's been the exception rather than the norm in Ganguly's case...even in RSA, he only played decently in one innings when the picthes were juicy (ion the frst 2 tests) and he cashed in on the flat Cape Town wicket.
Mostly, Ganguly has struggled bigtime against attacks with decent pace bowlers .....
in fact I can't think of a sinle century that Saurav has scored against a strong attack.



Never said Kaif was going to be an all time great did I Dicko .....Tendulkar is extremely unreliable thesedays and he flops at the slightest bit of pressure......India woul;d be much better having a player who can actually make runs under those circumstances (which Kaif has shown he can do)

 

[open365]

Kaif is over rated, the guy doesn't average over 40 in any form of the game, only had 3 international centuries and is technicaly flawed.

 

[Richard]

it's been the exception rather than the norm in Ganguly's case...even in RSA, he only played decently in one innings when the picthes were juicy (ion the frst 2 tests) and he cashed in on the flat Cape Town wicket.
Mostly, Ganguly has struggled bigtime against attacks with decent pace bowlers .....
in fact I can't think of a sinle century that Saurav has scored against a strong attack.

Thing is, though, centuries aren't all of note that can be scored. In tricky circumstances (ie, against a good attack most of the time) a 70 or even a 60-odd is a very good innings.

Here's a few instances of him performing against good seamers: Glenn McGrath and Paul Reiffel certainly weren't bad; nor was Donald, Pollock, McMillan and Klusener; and his most recent innings was certainly no stroll in the park. Just a few...

Never said Kaif was going to be an all time great did I Dicko .....Tendulkar is extremely unreliable thesedays and he flops at the slightest bit of pressure......India woul;d be much better having a player who can actually make runs under those circumstances (which Kaif has shown he can do)

Your 1st post seemed to be suggesting Tendulkar had always done so, and I've stated time and again why that notion is complete crap. I can't even really see Kaif doing a much better job than Tendulkar even now, and to suggest he's performed under pressure while Tendulkar has not (which, as I say, your 1st post on the matter seemed to be saying) is simply ludicrous.