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Worst Cricketer of the Decade

NUFAN

Y no Afghanistan flag
As the title suggests, who is the worst Cricketer this decade?

Must have played a minimum of 5 Tests, 3 ODIs and 1 T20 to count.
 

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The fact that Ian Salisbury played a couple of tests this decade makes this a non-contest.

But if we're to follow your criteria to the letter, I think it's Xavier Marshall. The fact that he doesn't look that bad blinds people to the fact that he's actually absolutely horrendous.
 

andyc

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Reifer, Marshall and Sami all close picks IMO. I guess Sami at least has decent domestic performances behind him.
 

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Reifer, Marshall and Sami all close picks IMO. I guess Sami at least has decent domestic performances behind him.
I wasn't really counting Reifer because he only fits the criteria because of the WI strike.

It's certainly not Sami.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Daren Ganga is actually a pretty good batsman who simply can't hack international cricket. Someone like Xavier Marshall however is, as mentioned, simply absolutely hopeless. I'd agree that there's no point counting the likes of those who played for West Indies Third XI (especially some 36-year-old who only played to captain), and also obviously there's no point counting Zimbabweans and Bangladeshis else we'd have thousands - a couple to come to mind are Anwar Hossain Monir and Shadab Kabir.

I'm less than sure about Sreesanth, Gillespie and even Mohammad Sami. Sure, they're all well below international standard in both formats (I'd disagree with the criteria of having to play Twenty20 Internationals BTW, because there are relatively speaking so precious few of them) but I'd not say any of them were obviously diabolical - the latter two even earned their go to some extent at domestic level.

BTW Ian Salisbury being suggested is also not fair to my mind. Again, sure, below Test-class and absolutely dreadful figures but certainly nowhere near as bad as some who have played - he at least earned his go.

Of bowlers, I'd say the worst this decade is probably Richard Dawson, though Adam Sanford is certainly also worth a mention.

And someone else I'd mention, though he doesn't qualify as he (mercifully) never played Test cricket: Darryl Brown. Played a few ODIs for West Indies in 2001/02, despite never achieving anything much in a territorial career of, IIRR, about 3 years. Almost as diabolical a selection as Darren Pattinson, and undoubtedly a far, far, far worse bowler.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Very good? I think not. Decent? Absolutely. Potentially pretty good? Certainly possible.

I guess his idiocy will possibly get him marked down purely as a bowler by some, but he nonetheless played the biggest part in something that had never happened before - India winning a Test in South Africa. I guess it's fair enough really to say that he doesn't deserve mention here.

Funnily enough there's someone who's probably a far worse Test bowler than Sreesanth, and that's Ajit Agarkar. But he, this decade, played the biggest part in India doing something else unprecedented - taking the lead in a Test series in Australia (I can't remember if they did it against the Packer-gutted side of 1977/78 and if they did I couldn't give a damn - matches against that team, for India, Pakistan, West Indies and England, count for nothing to me). So he again can't quite count. Also obviously he has sometimes been a not-too-bad ODI bowler.
 

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He's also scored a century at Lord's- that has to count for something.

Mohammad Sami isn't bad enough at ODIs to be considered for mine.
 

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