Prodigies who came good and the waste men

[trundler]

Biggest prodigy I know that was picked early was Kallis... think he was spotted at 13 or something. I think it was similar for ABdV, maybe not quite so young.

As has already mentioned Duminy is probably the biggest waste-man in SA history. Followed by Parnell.

Yeah, Kallis was a freak too, like Tendulkar and Ponting.

Then there are some guys like Ambrose who took up cricket quite late.

 

[trundler]

Probably a whole bunch of kolpaks who will go down as waste men for SA

 

[morgieb]

Probably a whole bunch of kolpaks who will go down as waste men for SA

A lot of the older ones were mostly fringe 30 year olds who were good FC players but couldn't crack the normal side. Has changed a bit recently though.

 

[Dendarii]

Biggest prodigy I know that was picked early was Kallis... think he was spotted at 13 or something. I think it was similar for ABdV, maybe not quite so young.

Herschelle Gibbs made his first-class debut at 16, although I'm not sure how you'd classify him. He had a decent career, but given his talent he probably should have done more than he did.

 

[Burgey]

Vinod Kambli an obvious waste man

 

[trundler]

Herschelle Gibbs made his first-class debut at 16, although I'm not sure how you'd classify him. He had a decent career, but given his talent he probably should have done more than he did.

An underachiever of the Cowdrey kind, not the Kambli kind.

 

[MrPrez]

SA have one of the toughest FC comps too. True waste. Good spot.

Nah, he debuted before we switched to the 6-team system. Wasn't quite as competitive back then. But still good enough to make his achievements impressive.

 

[MrPrez]

Biggest prodigy I know that was picked early was Kallis... think he was spotted at 13 or something. I think it was similar for ABdV, maybe not quite so young.

As has already mentioned Duminy is probably the biggest waste-man in SA history. Followed by Parnell.

I may be wrong but I think his school, Wynberg Boys, plants a tree for each first team century - and it was a bit of a running joke that Kallis was building a small forest. Or something along those lines.

 

[Burgey]

I know he’s already been mentioned, but Ponting as a kid was crazy. Didn’t get out for 3.5 years in juniors. Not once. They changed the rule down there to make retiring at 50 compulsory because of him. I mean, I could play against under 12 kids for three years and make a **** load of runs but I’d kick a straight one or hit one straight up at some point.

Then he went to the State under 16s as a 13 yo and peeled off five tons in five days.

 

[trundler]

Yeah, that's insane. Every now and then you hear about some kid making 600 runs or something but then they fade away. You have to be very driven person to keep that up.

 

[Burgey]

Yeah it’s crazy, but it’s still encouraging imo that you can get to the top via different routes.

You’ve got these prodigies who are IDed early, then you have someone like Wasim or Waqar plucked out of a random net session, or someone like McGrath not come down to play grade til later, or a Copeland who was a keeper when he first played grade. One of the good things about the game imho.

They have all these junior pathways here but there’s barely a player who makes it via that system. Shows you how narrow the funnel is.

 

[trundler]

I think Afridi was plucked out of a local game too. Guys like Kohli and Kane have come through U19.

Azhar Ali started out as a leggie and then became a batsman after a back injury. Pretty damn weird how some players have completely changed roles along the way.

 

[Pup Clarke]

Umar Gul was box office when he was on song. Definitely a bit of a wasted talent. Was seriously good in the T20 World Cup 09

 

[Flem274*]

haha, I remember rolling my eyes so hard at everyone telling me that KW was going to be teh greatest. After Andre Adams made him look like a number 11 on first class debut, I was quite sure we were looking at another Marshall-class international dunce. Had to re-evaluate when he started averaging 50+ as an 18 year old a year later.

haha, i don't remember it but you were on your own with this one.

my loss of faith was probably right before he arrived - that 2012 sri lankan series where after 3 seasons in the team he averaged below 30.

sometimes i forget just how grim the 2008-2012 test side was, and then just as boult/southee announced themselves as a duo we decided to have an internal captaincy war.

 

[vcs]

KW made a ton on a flat wicket in his Test debut in India in a dire drawn match (famous for Harbhajan's match-saving ton). I became a fan right away. Ryder looked great in that series too.

 

[aussie tragic]

Is it too early to mention Austin Waugh as an underachieving prodigy...being Steve Waugh's son he should already be playing for NSW as he'll be 20 in November

 

[trundler]

The Hadlees are the only competent father son duo I can think of.

 

[aussie tragic]

The Hadlees are the only competent father son duo I can think of.

Lance and Chris Cairns
Chris and Stuart Broad
David and Johnny Bairstow
Geoff, Shaun and Mitch Marsh....oh wait

 

[Burgey]

Umar Gul was box office when he was on song. Definitely a bit of a wasted talent. Was seriously good in the T20 World Cup 09

He was a good bowler. Always rated him

 

[Burgey]

Lance and Chris Cairns
Chris and Stuart Broad
David and Johnny Bairstow
Geoff, Shaun and Mitch Marsh....oh wait

Aside from the Marsh lads, the younger generation in all those pairings is comfortably better imo