Underachievers an Overachievers in World Cricket.

[Dare]

Sarwan has been a underachiever, the talent that he has and the way he started of his career he could have been one of the best this decade.

 

[shravi]

Sarwan has been a underachiever, the talent that he has and the way he started of his career he could have been one of the best this decade.

Agreed. I love Sarwan but he could be so much better. He's finally (consistently)living up to his reputation now.

Kevin Pietersen is another massive underachiever. He should just keep his mouth shut and he'd be so much better. He's one of my favorite players but he's got to know when to shut up. His ego used to make his game what it was, now it's just affecting it (negatively). Sorry Dan .

 

[King Pietersen]

Check my Underachiever XI, hes in there. Not because of his ego though, the egos not the problem!

 

[aussie_ben91]

Rahul Dravid- A very talented batsman yes, but not as naturally gifted as his average would suggest. He's lucky he's been blessed with such patience and detirmination, as without that he'd have most probably failed at Test level.

Glad to see that you agreed with me.

Also, Sehwag would have a good technique if he moved his feet.

 

[King Cricket]

Another underachiever is Rohit Sharma, our Yuvi is one as well.

King Cricket added 1 Minutes and 42 Seconds later...

Check my Underachiever XI, hes in there. Not because of his ego though, the egos not the problem!

How can a player with 50+ average in Tests be an underachiever?

 

[0601731]

rp.singh and sreesanth and underachievers and ofcourse some of the biggest underachievers of all time are hick and ramprakash.

 

[mrtwisties]

Hick, now that's a good point. Poor guy, got completely slaughtered by international bowlers and was never really the same again.

 

[SaiSrini]

Ajit Agarkar.... Underachiever! Seriously this guy was touted to be the next "allrounder" and the way he romped away to the fastest 50 wickets, everything was so good. But what a fall he had? Didnt expect it at all

Saurav Ganguly Over achiever! Seriously Dada (Ganguly) had limited talent. He wasnt technically gifted nor is he patient like Dravid. What he had was loads of determination and the "in your face" attitude. This attitude took him too far. Its funny that with the kind of statistics Ganguly has, he is not called a legend.

 

[King Cricket]

Saurav Ganguly Over achiever! Seriously Dada (Ganguly) had limited talent. He wasnt technically gifted nor is he patient like Dravid. What he had was loads of determination and the "in your face" attitude. This attitude took him too far. Its funny that with the kind of statistics Ganguly has, he is not called a legend.

Says who? You should just come to Kolkata, you will understand what "legend" means. It has been six months since his retirement. Still his name is everywhere. Everywhere means everywhere. Just can't express it in words, when Buch declared that Dada will not remain the KKR skipper, that was like adding fire to gun-powder. Just can't express that in words. People shouting, setting buses and trums on fire...just can't express it..

 

[0601731]

people in kolkatta need to grpw up,you dont see such reaction in bangalore or hyderabad.

 

[lewbis05]

overachievers:because all the people i know at cricket are well good when we have a match of cricket

 

[metallics2006]

My Over-Achievers XI:

Virender Sehwag- No foot movement whatsoever, but blessed with superb hand-eye co-ordination, and the mental strength to make massive innings' on flat decks. Given his technique alone, he has over-achieved.
Marcus Trescothick- Same as Sehwag. Little footmovement, but his superb hand-eye co-ordination, power and ability to hit over the top allowed him to develop into a successful batsman.
Rahul Dravid- A very talented batsman yes, but not as naturally gifted as his average would suggest. He's lucky he's been blessed with such patience and detirmination, as without that he'd have most probably failed at Test level.
Steve Waugh- No hook shot, no pull shot, but the concentration to outlast any bowling attack. Waugh was another that grafted his way to Test runs, and was incredibly successful at doing so.
Paul Collingwood- Another in the same mould as Dravid. Not particularly naturally gifted, but has worked immensely hard on his game, and managed to develop a techinque that works for him and allows him to graft his way to Test and ODi runs. He's definitely over-achieved.
Nasser Hussain- Grafted to make as many runs as he did, again with not a huge amount of natural talent.
Andy Flower- Flower was a gifted batsman, not a great keeper, but a gifted batsman, but his overachieving comes from the fact he played for a woeful Zimbabwe side, which only won 7 of the 63 Tests that Flower played.
Anil Kumble- Took an immense haul of wickets, with decent leg-spin, but he as no Shane Warne. He got the ball to turn a little, mixed up his pace quite well, but never appeared to look particularly threatening. Managed to take alot of wickets though.
Courtney Walsh- Didn't have the pace or ferocity of his partner Curtley Ambrose, but was the more successful of the 2 bowlers, taking more wickets and finishing his career as the 2nd most successful fast bowler in the history of the game.
Makhaya Ntini- Ntini isn't the quickest, he's not the most accurate, he doesn't get the ball to really do much in the air, but has still managed to chalk up 388 Test victims. It's Ntini's strange angle that has led to the majority of his wickets, and considering it's almost impossible for him to get an LBW of a left hander from over the wicket, I think he's done pretty well!
Matthew Hoggard- A flawed action (bowling round his arse) leads to not a great deal of pace, but Hoggard still managed to take alot of wickets for England with his swing. Never looked particularly threatening when it wasn't swinging, but even at his pace he managed to take alot of wickets. Well done to him.

Sure I've forgotten a few people, but they're the ones I could come up with, plus a little help from a Cricinfo article I found. Was far more difficult than the modern underachievers.

His 10,000 ODI runs were gifted by the ICC, were'nt they?

He was extremely talented imo.

 

[aussie_ben91]

His 10,000 ODI runs were gifted by the ICC, were'nt they?

He was extremely talented imo.

He if was extremely talented then he would've played more shots.

He also has the lowest strike-rate of anyone to have scored over 10,000 ODI runs.

 

[King Cricket]

Why are people saying that Dravid is an over-achiever?, he had little talent- Lol. He is one of those few cricketers who has a 90+ score in the debut test. He has 10000+ ODI runs, he is one of the best no 3 batsmen to have ever graced cricket, he has saved India from sure defeat many a times, I still remember that Pakistan ODI where he scored 75. It is just that his batting style is a bit defensive- but that does not mean he has "little" talent or anything. He plays "defensively"- that's it. He deserves evey run he has scored so far. He has very few technical flaws, and.....why are you saying this I don't understand. Wish Daniel will clarify his statement a bit.

 

[King Pietersen]

His runs came from grit, knowing his limitations and having the detirmination to succeed. He is not one of the most naturally gifted batsmen, and has had to work incredibly hard to make himself into the player he is today. He has tremendous patience and mental strength, and that is what allows him to bat for so long and make the sort of runs he has. If he didn't have the patience and mental strength, he wouldn't be averaging over 50 in Test cricket, as his talent alone isn't enough to carry him. It's the same with Steve Waugh and Paul Collingwood. Not particularly naturally gifted, but battlers that know their limitations.