The World Cup's prolific nearly-men
Players who were outstanding on the biggest stage of all but were part of unsuccessful teams
Travis Basevi and George Binoy
06-Apr-2011
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid were the highest run-scorers of the 1996 and 1999 World Cups, but India's campaigns in those tournaments weren't successful • Getty Images
Seven of the top eight run-scorers in the 2011 World Cup played in the final. Only the insatiable Jonathan Trott, who scored 422 runs in seven innings, wasn't there. Five of the top eight wicket-takers weren't on show in Mumbai. Only Zaheer Khan, Muttiah Muralitharan and Yuvraj Singh were. In this week's List, we've looked at players who were outstanding in World Cups but failed to make it to the business end of the tournaments.
The only player to score more than 500 runs in a World Cup and not play its final is Sachin Tendulkar. In the 1996 tournament Tendulkar amassed 523 in seven innings during India's run to the semi-final, which was awarded to Sri Lanka after the Eden Gardens crowd did not allow India's collapse to reach its inevitable conclusion. It was the first time a batsman had scored more than 500 in a World Cup and it remained the highest aggregate until 2003, when Tendulkar scored 673 runs as India finished runners-up in South Africa.
The next two batsmen in the table below belong to two teams that fare extremely well in World Cups until the penultimate step, or the one before that - New Zealand and South Africa. Scott Styris and Jacques Kallis had terrific tournaments in the Caribbean in 2007, finishing fourth and fifth on the top run-scorers' list, but their teams fell in the semi-finals. Like in 2011, New Zealand were beaten by Sri Lanka in 2007 as well, while South Africa lost to Australia. New Zealand have now played six semi-finals and never made it to a final. South Africa have not yet won a knockout match in a World Cup.
| Player | Series | Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SR Tendulkar (India) | 1995/96 | 7 | 7 | 523 | 137 | 87.16 | 2 | 3 |
| SB Styris (NZ) | 1 | 4 | ||||||
| JH Kallis (SA) | 2006/07 | 10 | 9 | 485 | 128* | 80.83 | 1 | 3 |
| R Dravid (India) | 1999 | 8 | 8 | 461 | 145 | 65.85 | 2 | 3 |
| MD Crowe (NZ) | 1 | 4 | ||||||
| KP Pietersen (Eng) | 2006/07 | 9 | 9 | 444 | 104 | 55.50 | 2 | 3 |
| GC Smith (SA) | 2006/07 | 10 | 10 | 443 | 91 | 49.22 | 0 | 5 |
| IJL Trott (Eng) | 0 | 5 | ||||||
| PN Kirsten (SA) | 1991/92 | 8 | 8 | 410 | 90 | 68.33 | 0 | 4 |
| IVA Richards (WI) | 1987/88 | 6 | 6 | 391 | 181 | 65.16 | 1 | 3 |
| G Kirsten (SA) | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| DI Gower (Eng) | 1983 | 7 | 7 | 384 | 130 | 76.80 | 1 | 1 |
| HH Gibbs (SA) | 2002/03 | 6 | 6 | 384 | 143 | 96.00 | 1 | 2 |
| MS Atapattu (SL) | 2 | 1 | ||||||
| SC Ganguly (India) | 1999 | 7 | 7 | 379 | 183 | 54.14 | 1 | 1 |
| RR Sarwan (WI) | 2006/07 | 9 | 9 | 375 | 92 | 46.87 | 0 | 2 |
| AB de Villiers (SA) | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| DC Boon (Aus) | 1991/92 | 8 | 8 | 368 | 100 | 52.57 | 2 | 0 |
| NC Johnson (Zim) | 1999 | 8 | 8 | 367 | 132* | 52.42 | 1 | 3 |
| G Fowler (Eng) | 0 | 4 | ||||||
| SP Fleming (NZ) | 2006/07 | 10 | 10 | 353 | 102* | 39.22 | 1 | 3 |
| AB de Villiers (SA) | 2010/11 | 5 | 5 | 353 | 134 | 88.25 | 2 | 1 |
The only time the leading run-scorer's team failed to make the semi-finals was in the 1999 edition in England. Rahul Dravid was the top run-getter in that tournament, with 461 in eight innings. He was, in fact, the only batsman to make more than 400 - Steve Waugh was next with 398. Sourav Ganguly was third, with 379, but India crashed out in the Super Six stage, losing to everyone except Pakistan.
There are three South Africans in the top half of the table below who were in terrific form in World Cups but were part of campaigns that ended abruptly. Gary Kirsten made 391 runs in the 1996 tournament, including a record score of 188, and was instrumental in South Africa winning all five group games. They were expected to brush West Indies aside in the quarter-final but were ambushed by Brian Lara and an exceptional fielding performance. Herschelle Gibbs averaged 96 at home in 2003, when South Africa's campaign ended because they misread the Duckworth-Lewis sheet against Sri Lanka and tied the game when they needed to win it. In 2011, AB de Villiers was shaping up to be the batsman of the tournament, until his run-out in the quarter-final against New Zealand led to another early exit for South Africa. He finished the World Cup with 353 runs at an average of 88.25.
With the exception of the Australians, the best bowlers in most recent World Cups have been from teams that failed to reach the final. In 2011, Shahid Afridi topped with 21 wickets (Zaheer Khan had as many but played one more game) but Pakistan were beaten in the semi-final. Afridi's average was a sensational 12.85 and his economy rate was only 3.62, when the average economy rate for the tournament was over 5.00. Chaminda Vaas claimed 23 scalps in 2003, ahead of Brett Lee's 22, but Sri Lanka were eliminated by Australia in the semi-final. New Zealand also fell in the semi-final of the 1999 World Cup, in which Geoff Allott was the surprise highest wicket-taker with 20. Shane Warne went on to match his tally in the final.
| Player | Series | Mat | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | Ave | Econ | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPUJC Vaas (SL) | 2002/03 | 10 | 528 | 331 | 23 | 6/25 | 14.39 | 3.76 | 1 | 1 |
| Shahid Afridi (Pak) | 2010/11 | 8 | 447 | 270 | 21 | 5/16 | 12.85 | 3.62 | 2 | 2 |
| GI Allott (NZ) | 1999 | 9 | 526 | 325 | 20 | 4/37 | 16.25 | 3.70 | 2 | 0 |
| TG Southee (NZ) | 2010/11 | 8 | 434 | 312 | 18 | 3/13 | 17.33 | 4.31 | 0 | 0 |
| ALF de Mel (SL) | 1983 | 6 | 396 | 265 | 17 | 5/32 | 15.58 | 4.01 | 0 | 2 |
| Imran Khan (Pak) | 1987/88 | 7 | 299 | 222 | 17 | 4/37 | 13.05 | 4.45 | 2 | 0 |
| L Klusener (SA) | 1999 | 9 | 455 | 350 | 17 | 5/21 | 20.58 | 4.61 | 0 | 1 |
| M Muralitharan (SL) | 2002/03 | 10 | 526 | 319 | 17 | 4/28 | 18.76 | 3.63 | 1 | 0 |
| SE Bond (NZ) | 2002/03 | 8 | 468 | 305 | 17 | 6/23 | 17.94 | 3.91 | 0 | 1 |
| CZ Harris (NZ) | 1991/92 | 9 | 433 | 342 | 16 | 3/15 | 21.37 | 4.73 | 0 | 0 |
| AA Donald (SA) | 1999 | 9 | 492 | 325 | 16 | 4/17 | 20.31 | 3.96 | 2 | 0 |
| VC Drakes (WI) | 2002/03 | 6 | 311 | 208 | 16 | 5/33 | 13.00 | 4.01 | 0 | 2 |
| DL Vettori (NZ) | 2006/07 | 10 | 586 | 447 | 16 | 4/23 | 27.93 | 4.57 | 1 | 0 |
| A Kumble (India) | 1995/96 | 7 | 418 | 281 | 15 | 3/28 | 18.73 | 4.03 | 0 | 0 |
| RJ Peterson (SA) | 2010/11 | 7 | 336 | 238 | 15 | 4/12 | 15.86 | 4.25 | 1 | 0 |
| RJ Hadlee (NZ) | 1983 | 6 | 391 | 180 | 14 | 5/25 | 12.85 | 2.76 | 0 | 1 |
| Maninder Singh (India) | 1987/88 | 7 | 420 | 280 | 14 | 3/21 | 20.00 | 4.00 | 0 | 0 |
| BP Patterson (WI) | 1987/88 | 6 | 336 | 253 | 14 | 3/31 | 18.07 | 4.51 | 0 | 0 |
| EA Brandes (Zim) | 1991/92 | 8 | 421 | 355 | 14 | 4/21 | 25.35 | 5.05 | 1 | 0 |
| JDP Oram (NZ) | 2002/03 | 8 | 420 | 295 | 14 | 4/52 | 21.07 | 4.21 | 1 | 0 |
| AJ Hall (SA) | 2006/07 | 9 | 456 | 335 | 14 | 5/18 | 23.92 | 4.40 | 0 | 1 |
| A Flintoff (Eng) | 2006/07 | 8 | 414 | 298 | 14 | 4/43 | 21.28 | 4.31 | 1 | 0 |
| CK Langeveldt (SA) | 2006/07 | 8 | 396 | 361 | 14 | 5/39 | 25.78 | 5.46 | 0 | 1 |
| DBL Powell (WI) | 2006/07 | 9 | 510 | 385 | 14 | 3/38 | 27.50 | 4.52 | 0 | 0 |
| Imran Tahir (SA) | 2010/11 | 5 | 237 | 150 | 14 | 4/38 | 10.71 | 3.79 | 2 | 0 |
| Umar Gul (Pak) | 2010/11 | 8 | 363 | 272 | 14 | 3/30 | 19.42 | 4.49 | 0 | 0 |
Travis Basevi is a cricket statistician and UK Senior Programmer for Cricinfo and other ESPN sports websites. George Binoy is an Assistant Editor at ESPNcricinfo