While the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 marked the swansong of many cricketers, it also catapulted many young and lesser-known players to fame. Some of them may become cricket icons in the future, while some of them may fade from the international arena by the time the next edition of the World Cup takes place.
But as far as World Cup 2019 is concerned, these players impressed one and all with their commendable performances, and many of them have even become household names.
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In this article, we look back at the performances of six such individuals who were not so much established in their respective national sides prior to the start of the tournament but certainly are now.
- Mohammad Saifuddin (Bangladesh)
Mohammad Saifuddin emerged as one of the most promising talents during Bangladesh’s journey to the semi-finals at the 2016 ICC U-19 World Cup, which they played on home soil. He along with Mehidy Hasan have graduated into the senior team from that U-19 side, but a spate of injuries coupled with being reported for a suspect bowling action during the Dhaka Premier League in 2016 had raised apprehensions about his career. However, the young seam-bowling all-rounder has been a regular feature in the Bangladeshi ODI and T20I teams over the past couple of years and has earned high praise from several Bangladeshi cricketers—both past and present—including his skipper in the ODI format, Mashrafe Mortaza, who believes that Saifuddin has the potential in him to become one of the biggest assets for Bangladesh going forward.
Carrying the good form from the tri-series involving the Windies, Bangladesh and Ireland held in Ireland just before the World Cup, in which he picked up 4 wickets in 3 games @ 29.8, Saifuddin stood out as one of Bangladesh’s leading performers during their 2019 Cricket World Cup campaign. With his skiddy pace, Saifuddin was not easy to score off at the back end of the innings, but often struggled to take wickets with the new ball, which is one of the primary reasons why Bangladesh failed to restrict the opposition openers from getting off to good starts. With the bat, he almost pulled off a match-winning performance against India, but the lack of support at the other end meant that he remained stranded on 51 and saw Bangladesh suffer a 28-run defeat.
With Mashrafe Mortaza expected to retire from the game soon, Saifuddin’s responsibility as a new ball bowler in the shorter formats is bound to increase. If monitored and handled carefully, he could well go on to become the next big star of Bangladeshi cricket.
Tournament stats: Batting: 7 matches, 87 runs, Avg. 29, S/R 120.83, HS 51*
Bowling: 14 wickets, Bowl Avg. 29.78, Economy 7.16
- Avishka Fernando (Sri Lanka)
When the Sri Lankan squad for the World Cup was announced, the evident inexperience in the batting department was immediately identified as its Achilles’ heel. It was a very bold—and even considered by many as stupid—move to overlook names like Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella and Upul Tharanga for a World Cup squad and naturally, nobody gave Sri Lanka much of a chance.
Despite having won just one of their nine ODIs in 2019 prior to the start of the World Cup, the fact that Sri Lanka finished sixth on the points table with eight points from seven games (two of their matches were washouts), owes largely to the contributions of two players in particular—veteran pace-bowler Lasith Malinga and twenty-one-year-old batsman Avishka Fernando.
In all, he got to play just four matches, but his contributions in those four matches were central to Sri Lanka’s turnaround in the tournament, even though they couldn’t eventually make the semis. Coming in at three, his stroke-filled maiden international hundred (104 off 103 balls) against the Windies at Chester-le-Street helped the Lankans post a massive 338-6 on the board which, even for a marauding Windies batting line-up, was going to be a very difficult chase. Eventually, the Windies fell short by 23 runs, enabling Fernando thereby to win his first ODI Man of the Match award.
A naturally aggressive batsman that he is, Fernando finished on top of the list for the highest strike-rates by number three batsmen in the tournament with a strike-rate of 107.1. With the next edition of the World Cup slated to be held in India, where the conditions are much similar to those found in Sri Lanka, Fernando—if he remains consistent—is likely to be a vital member of the Sri Lankan team in the four years that follow.
Tournament stats: 4 matches, 203 runs, Avg. 50.75, S/R 105.72, HS 104
- Nicholas Pooran (West Indies)
In the same game that Fernando got his hundred, West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran, too, made a scintillating century (118 off 103 balls), albeit in a losing cause. Known as a big-hitting middle-order batsman hitherto—thanks to his whirlwind knocks in the T20 leagues worldwide—Pooran, at this World Cup, showed that he is also adept at holding one end up and arrest his big-hitting impulses if a particular situation demands so.
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His patient 63 off 78 balls against England when nobody else around him was able to convert his start into a big score is a prime example of that. Currently twenty-three years of age, Pooran can become a long-term asset for this resurgent Windies team and may feature in two more World Cups, provided he is monitored properly and doesn’t lose his way.
Tournament stats: 9 matches, 367 runs, Avg. 52.42, S/R 100.27, HS 118
- Alex Carey (Australia)
The Australian wicket-keeper’s spirited fight despite being hit on the chin by a searing Jofra Archer delivery early on in the semi-final against England at Edgbaston will long remain enshrined in the memories of cricket lovers as a symbol of courage. Even though he got out for 46, his 103-run partnership with Steve Smith for the fourth wicket was the foremost reason why Australia were able to reach a total of 223 despite reeling at 27/3 at one stage.
Throughout the tournament, Carey made useful contributions batting lower down the order. The left-hander nearly took his team across the finish line with a valiant 85 against South Africa in the last league game, but the Aussies eventually fell short by ten runs.
With Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell flopping miserably in the tournament, it was often Carey’s more-than-a-run-a-ball knocks late in the Australian innings which eventually proved the winning margin in low scoring games.
With the gloves, too, he had a fantastic tournament, affecting 20 dismissals in 10 games including 18 catches and 2 stumpings.
Tournament batting stats: 10 matches, 375 runs, Avg. 62.50, S/R 104.45, HS 85
- Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
Having had a very mediocre run in ODIs leading into the World Cup, nineteen-year-old Shaheen Afridi was not sure of a place in Pakistan’s playing XI during the World Cup. But Hasan Ali’s poor form in the tournament meant that they had to resort to the young left-arm pacer, and it proved a rewarding decision. In the five games that he played at the Word Cup, he picked up 16 wickets (including career best figures of 6/35 against Bangladesh) @ 14.42, thus being instrumental behind Pakistan’s turnaround in the tournament. At the end of the league stage, Pakistan finished on the same number of points as New Zealand, but the latter leapfrogged Pakistan to reach the semis by virtue of having a better NRR.
Blessed with raw pace and the ability to hit a good length time and again, the six-feet-six-inch tall pacer has all the ingredients to become a premier fast bowler for his country in the future. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, who has an excellent eye for spotting talent, has even said on record that Shaheen Afridi is a superstar in the making. It only remains to be seen whether he has the temperament required to sustain him at the highest level.
Tournament stats: 5 matches, 16 wickets, Bowl Avg. 14.62, Economy 4.96
- Jofra Archer (England)
A few years ago, the Barbadian-born was not even considered for the West Indies U-19 side. And now, he is a World Cup winner.
A debilitating back injury almost put an abrupt halt to his blossoming career, but today, in retrospect, he can say that it was a blessing in disguise. Having slipped out of the radar of the Windies selectors, he took advantage of his British passport (his father is English) and went to England to ply his trade on the county circuit on the advice of fellow Barbadian-born English cricketer Chris Jordan. And since, there has been no looking back for this fast-bowling all-rounder.
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For the last few months, speculation was rife whether Archer would find a place in England’s World Cup squad. While many players within the English camp expressed their reservations about the issue, understandably owing to the fear of losing their spots in the ODI team, cricket pundits and the decision makers of the English team management knew that if England had to succeed at the World Cup, they needed an X-factor, and that X-factor had to be Archer. That is why the ECB relaxed its regulations related to immigrant players and reduced the number of years of residency from seven to three, so that they could accommodate him in the team. And what a masterstroke it was!
A potent wicket-taker, Archer”s forte lies in his all-round bowling skills— fetching early breakthroughs in the first poweplay, coming back in the middle overs and breaking partnerships, and also stemming the tide of runs by picking wickets at the death. On some days, he might go for a few runs, but on most he is accurate, exhibiting his vast range of deliveries. From the inswinging yorker to the vicious bouncer to the deceptive knuckle ball, his rich inventory is something that any aspiring fast bowler would dream of possessing, and when you add to that his ability to clock speeds over 150 kph on a regular basis, you know that he is a type of bowler England have never had before.
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Still, credit has to be given to Archer for adroitly executing his skills and showing the temperament of a world-class performer on the biggest stage of the game, which, incidentally, is only his third international assignment. Moreover, his experience of participating in the big T20 leagues around the world has made him accustomed to holding his nerves in front of capacity crowds, which was evident in the way he bowled the last two deliveries of the super over, the last hurdle that England had to overcome before winning their coveted Cricket World Cup trophy.
Archer finished the tournament as England’s highest wicket-taker, claiming 20 scalps in 11 games at an economy rate of 4.77.
Tournament stats: 11 matches, 20 wickets, Bowl Avg. 24.55, Economy 4.77