Players who didn't reach their full potential

[Sir Alex]

Its difficult to see how he will be in his prime after 14 years in cricket, the injuries are bound to happen but they way he came back and reinvented himself since 07 is more or less make up for the part he struggled. You don't expect a player to go injury free for more than 20 years unless he is freakishly athletic. He achieved everything expected of him and more. Saying he should have done more is really unfair on him and on other talented players who had the potential but failed to do half of what SRT done.

Us Indians never really get enough of God.

 

[Richard]

I think Dickie is trying to give us hints about himself.

I'm very well educated, and what's more I'm also fairly smart to go with it.

 

[slippyslip]

I think a lot of West Indian players in the past decade have not reach their full potential.

Franklyn Rose and Reon King obviously spring to mind.
Even before his troubles Marlon Samuels hadn't achieved what his potential indicated.
Sherwin Campbell. Well, basically every batsmen since Chanderpaul.

Before the decline of the West Indies there as Ian Bishop. His early decline and retirement definitely hurt the West Indies in the mid to late 90's. If Bishop hasn't had all those injure imagine a bowling line up up Walsh, Ambrose and Bishop at their best. That would be been as good as any of the great West Indian attacks.

 

[Richard]

Bishop, Ambrose and Walsh played together plenty of times, three spells in between his injuries. Sometimes there was even a fourth prong in the pace attack who was worthy - Marshall 1990-1990/91, Winston Benjamin in 1988, Kenneth Benjamin in 1995, even Rose himself in 1997.

I've said it before - it was no coincidence IMO that West Indies' overnight slide from second-best side around (as they still were in 1997) to a wreck who lost just about every away Test and, soon, most home ones as well, coincided exactly with Bishop's downfall. In 1997/98 and 1998 he was a skeleton (never mind shadow) of his former self.

That said, I'm not sure Bishop could be said to be someone who didn't reach his full potential - quite the contrary, in fact, he showed astonishing power of mind to twice fight back from the spinal injuries and still enjoy a damn good career (from '89 to '97 IIRR he played about 37 games and averaged something like 22). I reckon most people would've been finished long before he was. Bishop was, for all his talent, not blessed with a strong body but he was incredibly strong of mind and thus wrung everything he could from what relatively little he was given.

 

[Julian87]

Kanitkar, Craig McMillan and Mark Higgs.

 

[Beleg]

Inzamam.


the greatest batting talent produced by pakistan in my lifetime. and the fact that he ended up with an average of fifty and failed to score a century in south africa was really disappointing.

 

[inbox24]

Stuart MacGill - would be up there if Warne hadn't played

Michael Bevan - for tests

Andy Bichel

Brad Hodge - post great retirement era, from 2007

David Hussey - tests

 

[thierry henry]

Kanitkar, Craig McMillan and Mark Higgs.

McMillan is a fair shout imo. Not that I think he was ever going to be a top-notch player or anything (was a bit of a "plonk the foot down the wicket and swing" merchant) but he could've been a decent-ish test player and a pretty good limited overs player.

As it is his test record actually looks ok by NZ standards, but is pretty inflated by performances against poor teams or on flat decks. His ODI career was pretty much a constant disappointment apart from the last 12 months or so when he suddenly became awesome as a straight out basher.

Of course, on top of that you've got the fact that he retired at a really weird time- when he was only 30, seemed to be in top form and had finally forced his way back in to the side.

It's really hard to know whether he retired early and didn't live up to his potential because he's a lazy, greedy **** (as evidenced by him chasing ICL cash immediately after "retiring"), or whether his diabetes (and the weight gain that I assume is related to that?) really was the big factor that he made it out to be.

As I say, by no means a complete player, but had rare ball-striking ability for an NZ player, and the sort of uncomplicated technique that worked well for other players of his era. Was also a very good player of spin.

 

[thierry henry]

David Hussey - tests

His FC record is freaky, I find it hard to fathom how he has been pigeon-holed as a limited overs specialist....not many people seem to be clamouring for him to make the test team though.

 

[thierry henry]

On a similar note to Bevan/Dussey

Chris Harris- widely regarded as a player who made the most of his limited ODI abilities, especially as a bowler- but at domestic level BY FAR his strongest facet was his FC batting. Probably the best FC batsman in NZ cricket throughout his career, but tbf he got a decent crack in tests and was horrible.

 

[The_roc]

Hick and Ramprakesh.

Both quality county players but neither could cut it at test level.

 

[fredfertang]

Sure would:

Graham Thorpe

Great player but not convinced he reached his full potential for three reasons

1. Towards the end of his career he was clearly affected, on some occasions more than others, by his Athertonesque back

2. He appeared distracted at times, particularly just after the millenium - hardly surprising in the circumstances - if John Terry and Wayne Bridge think they have troubles they should take a long look at poor old Thorpey's domestics

3. For some years he had that hugely irritating habit of regularly batting beautifully through to the close and then getting out straight away next morning

 

[Richard]

Thorpe was the sort of player for me who spent a good deal of his career disappointing (both through flattery to deceive to some extent and missing large numbers of games for varying reasons), then at the last achieved true fulfillment.

For me the Thorpe we saw in 2004 couldn't have been bettered. However bad his back was (and it was certainly getting worse) he was at the pinnacle of his game, at the age of 35.

 

[Richard]

Hick and Ramprakesh.

Both quality county players but neither could cut it at test level.

Not actually true - both gave enough demonstration, and Hick especially, that they could cut it at Test level. Which I suppose makes the fact that in the long-term they didn't even more frustrating still.

 

[Kweek]

Yuvraj I just don't think has it either mentally or technically either. Martyn for me had the potential to be a decent Test batsman and was just that. Don't think he could've been more. Harmison was never going to be very good, he just didn't do enough with the ball. Bond however much basic bowling talent he had lacked a durable body and the same factors which turned him from decent to excellent bowler also made him more injury-prone. His action, like Flintoff's, just encouraged injury. Shoaib simply did not have a strong enough body to enjoy an injury-free career. He was always, always going to be an on-off force.

every time you have a go at Harmison, I think of a time... around 4 years ago, a sunny day in Birmingham, Westwood was being a abysmal batsman but still managed to score a 50 and you were having a go at the poorness of Harmison, moments later we got the word he took 6 wickets against (i think it was Pakistan?)

of course in the end you were right about Harmison

 

[Richard]

Aye, that sunny day in July 2006. I remember it well. You got the word from me BTW, as I was the only one who'd brought a radio to listen to t'Test.

Was going to dig the commemorative photo out but CBA TBH.

 

[Kweek]

Aye, that sunny day in July 2006. I remember it well. You got the word from me BTW, as I was the only one who'd brought a radio to listen to t'Test.

Was going to dig the commemorative photo out but CBA TBH.

 

[Richard]

That wasn't the one I was thinking of but my hair's still plain awful in that one same as it is in the other.

 

[SeamUp]

No doubt Herschelle Gibbs didn't live up to his full potential.

Whipped out of the class room as a 16 year-old to make your FC debut for Western Province. The guy is pure sporting talent. Played representative rugby at age group levels and would have been fly-half for the Springboks. Also represented WP at junior levels in Football and athletics.

But back to his cricket. If he had used his brain more he could have had a test average of 50. His average peaked at around 46 but then he started to lose his drive and personal issues affected him and his test average dropped to 42 which isn't good enough for a man of his talents even though we do play on sporty pitches in SA.

 

[zaremba]

Wasim Akram's batting