5 cricketers who faded away after successful ODI or T20 World Cup campaigns
A cricketer's ultimate aim is to get a hand on the coveted World Cup, which is by far the greatest trophy in the sport.
There are many greats who made it big in the mega event, while some never managed to win a single World Cup in spite of ruling the game for the rest of their career. But there have also been instances when a player performed extraordinarily well in a World Cup or a World T20, and then failed to carry on the momentum following the triumph.
Let us have a look at 5 cricketers who faded away after successful World Cup campaigns:
#5 Ryan Sidebottom (England, 2010 ICC World T20)
Ryan Sidebottom is a disciplined left-arm bowler who made his debut against Pakistan in 2001. He was overlooked for 6 years after that, and he played his next match in 2007 against the West Indies - taking 8 wickets in the match.
His father Arnie played a lone Test for the Three Lions and was a very successful footballer who represented Manchester United, Huddersfield and Halifax.
Ryan played 22 Tests for England, taking 79 wickets, and could have easily played more if he had not announced his international retirement in September 2010 following England’s win at the World Cup T20 in West Indies.
The World T20 was the first major ICC tournament win for England, and Sidebottom’s useful spells were more than handy in the context of the triumph.
He was the highest wicket-taker for England along with Graeme Swann, who both took 10 wickets each. The medium pacer got a couple of wickets in the final at Barbados too, which England won by 7 wickets.
Sidebottom featured in a couple of matches after that before bidding adieu from all formats 4 months later.