5 terrific cricketers who never played World Cup
There have been prolific cricket players in the history of cricket, who succeeded in all forms of cricket like Vivian Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Shane Warne, and others. However, few players stand out as an aberration for only being good in Test matches and not in limited-overs cricket. These players were talented and played like a champion cricketer but never got selected in their World Cup squad.
Some were unlucky, and some were not up to the mark in terms of representing their side in the World Cup. We have discussed five such players here:
5. Matthew Hoggard (England)
Matthew Hoggard made his debut in 2000 against the West Indies and went on to play for eight years. In this span, he played 67 Test matches and took 248 wickets at an average of 30.5 with an economy rate of 3.26. He was a great Test player, but could not replicate the same success in ODI matches. Hoggard played in 26 ODIs, where he took 32 wickets at an average of 36.
Being tall and muscular, he bowled at high speed and moved the ball on either side of the wicket. Hoggard was chosen for the 2003 World Cup but did not play a single match.
4. Chris Martin (New Zealand)
Chris Martin was a right arm fast-medium bowler, who played for New Zealand for 13 years after making his debut in 2000. He played 71 Test matches and took 233 wickets at an average of 33.81 with an economy rate of 3.37. Martin was rarely on the selector's radar for the ODIs, meaning he was never in the reckoning to play in a World Cup.
He played 20 ODI matches and took 18 wickets at an average of 44.66. He was picked as a replacement for the injured Daryl Tuffey but did not get an opportunity to play any game.