Players who 'over-performed' internationally

[Bijed]

Cricket is full of people like, to varying degrees, Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash - people who entered the international stage with great things expected of them, but fell short. You hear about these people all the time. But what of the opposite - those whose selections seemed far-fetched, maybe even a little desperate (due to them being firmly established as perhaps a bit average, rather than being unknown) but turned out alright and the player in question had, not necessarily a spectacular or even very good international career, at least a decent to good one.

 

[Howe_zat]

Colin de Grandhomme

 

[OverratedSanity]

Ravindra Jadeja. Dart thrower ODI specialist to arguably India's MVP in home tests.

When he debuted in 2009, people didn't even expect him to do well in ODIs, let alone be a match winner in tests.

 

[Spikey]

well bradman only averaged 95 in fc cricket

 

[Daemon]

Nathan Lyon

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Paul Collingwood

 

[mr_mister]

Voges

 

[OverratedSanity]

Chris Rogers was supposed to be crap too

 

[the big bambino]

FS Jackson

 

[cnerd123]

Tim Bresnan

 

[ImpatientLime]

whats the deal with ken barrington averaging 45 at fc level but 58 in tests?

over 82 tests too.

 

[cnerd123]

whats the deal with ken barrington averaging 45 at fc level but 58 in tests?

over 82 tests too.

minnow basher

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Graeme Swann.

 

[mr_mister]

whats the deal with ken barrington averaging 45 at fc level but 58 in tests?

over 82 tests too.

Eddie paynter has a similar gap between his fc and test averages

 

[morgieb]

Chris Rogers was supposed to be crap too

His FC average is quite a bit higher than his Test one, doesn't really count at all.

Trescothick, maybe? Though his FC average post-Test retirement is over 50, so probably just England getting lucky on him improving rapidly around the time he got selected for the Test side.

 

[wpdavid]

Graeme Swann.

Very good call. I don't remember anyone on CW predicting the level of success he enjoyed.

Stuart Broad may well be another.

 

[AndrewB]

whats the deal with ken barrington averaging 45 at fc level but 58 in tests?

over 82 tests too.

The Oval was very bowler-friendly in the 1950s: Lock, Laker, Bedser, Loader all averaged about 16 for Surrey.

 

[morgieb]

whats the deal with ken barrington averaging 45 at fc level but 58 in tests?

over 82 tests too.

IIRC in the 1950's Surrey had some very ordinary pitches designed for Laker and Lock to dismiss sides quickly and it likely had a negative effect on his FC stats.

 

[ImpatientLime]

The Oval was very bowler-friendly in the 1950s: Lock, Laker, Bedser, Loader all averaged about 16 for Surrey.

IIRC in the 1950's Surrey had some very ordinary pitches designed for Laker and Lock to dismiss sides quickly and it likely had a negative effect on his FC stats.

gotcha. ta.

 

[mr_mister]

Didn't expect such a convincing and useful answer re barrington tbh