It does exactly what it says on the tin! (NB: Players must have played at least 5 games):
1. Chris Gayle WIN
Inns: 9 Runs: 212 Average: 25.33 HS: 79 Bowling Average: 56.4
- Failed to be the explosive player the West Indies needed. Simply didn't show up and even his bowling was unusually wayward.
2. Shariar Nafees BAN
Inns: 6 Runs: 31 Average: 5.16 HS: 12
- Having showed so much promise in the last twelve months, Nafees just couldn't buy a run, averaging 5 from 6 innings.
3. Michael Vaughan (vc) ENG
Inns: 9 Runs: 209 Average: 23.22 HS: 79
- The similarities with Gayle are scary. Bowling better than batting, top score of 79 in his last match! His captaincy wasn't bad, but was rather dictated by the poor performances of his team mates. Vaughan hardly set the tone for them though, at the crease or in the field. Surely the end of his ODI torture.
4. Eoin Morgan IRE
Inns: 9 Runs: 91 Average: 10.11 HS: 28
- One of very few Irish players to have played county cricket, he failed abysmally and was a real let down. Many expected a lot more of a talented player, especially John Emburey.
5. Habibul Bashar (c) BAN
Inns: 8 Runs: 105 Average: 13.12 HS: 32
- The complete opposite of confidence personified! Bashar simply got worse as the tournament progressed, failing to set an example and having a penchant for the run out. His captaincy wasn't much better, hence why he gains the acrymonious honour of captaining our flop side.
6. Aftab Ahmed BAN
Inns: 9 Runs: 128 Average: 14.22 HS: 35 Bowling Average: 38.0
- Aftab is one of Bangladesh's promising young guns, but he failed to deliver in this tournament and only just managed to score slightly more runs than his captain, a dubious honour.
7. Andre Botha IRE
Inns: 7 Runs: 62 Average: 10.33 HS: 28 Bowling Average: 36.2
- His bowling was economical, but for a middle order batsman his contributions were very poor. Not helped by injury, but Ireland would have expected more from their overseas import.
8. Andrew Flintoff ENG
Inns: 7 Runs: 92 Average: 13.14 HS: 43
- Bowling was good, if a little expensive at times. No-one will question his place on bowling skill, but number six now appears a skyscrapper too high for Freddie. Against the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa Flintoff contributed just 26 runs from 5 innings, that becomes 11 from 4 if you remove yesterday's effort. That is woeful form and undeserving of even eighth place in the batting.
9. Dinesh Ramdin (wk) WIN
Inns: 6 Runs: 84 Average: 16.8 HS: 52
- Failed to dispel the notion that he is not a wicket keeper batsman. In fact at times his glovework didn't even suggest he was a wicket keeper!
10. Sajid Mahmood ENG
Overs: 48.0 Average: 32.37 Economy: 5.40 Batting Average: 1.0
- Another tale of wasted talent. Has a good slower ball, can top 90 m.p.h. Unfortunately this matters little when it shoots down leg, or is a wide half volley. A batsman's best friend, he really needs a first full season, or two, in county cricket to hone his skills.
11. Jerome Taylor WIN
Overs: 64.0 Average: 51.0 Economy: 4.78 Batting Average: 9.25
- He has failed once before and been dropped. However, he was very young then. Having looked like being back to his best before the tournament, Taylor could not live up to lofty expectations once again and tailed away. Just wasn't the strike bowler the Windies needed, but he was hardly well handled by his coach.
3 comments:
Interesting piece, and it's hard to argue with many of your choices. Morgan's poor form was a real let-down.
A small quibble about Flintoff's inclusion. If he is to play in the let-down team, it has to be as a batsman. His bowling has been pretty good through the tournament - his batting abyssmal.
Ah Richard, hence why I said no complaints about his bowling and din't include his stats which are good. Gayle, Aftab, Botha, Mahmood and Taylor are this sides bowlers, a pretty woeful attack if I do say so myself! In fact it is actually very hard to find bowlers who had bad tournaments to be honest apart from these. So far the bowling has often been better than the batting, Fred a case in point!
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