A World XI of players whose careers were cut short too quickly

Shane Bond’s promising cricket career was curtailed by injuryThroughout the history of cricket, we have seen many great players who took the game to another level with their skill and determination. They made full use of the opportunities they received at the highest level.But there are many players who had the potential to become all time greats but due to a plethora of reasons failed to make their presence felt in international cricket. Some players were plagued by injuries while others played in an era when opportunities were scarce.Let’s have a look at a World XI of players whose careers were cut short too quickly.

#1 Barry Richards

Barry Richards was an exceptional talent

Barry Richards was such an enormous talent that he once batted using only the leading edge in a Durban club match and managed to do well. He has many records to his credit including nine centuries before lunch and 1000 runs in a first-class season 15 times.

Due to the isolation of South Africa, he managed only four Tests and scored 508 runs at an average of 72.57. In 339 first-class games he managed to score 28358 runs at an average of 54.74. He had all the credentials to become an all time great but destiny had different plans in store for him.

#2 Vijay Merchant

Vijay Merchant had a prolific first-class career

Vijay Merchant has the second best first-class average in cricket, scoring runs at an average is 71.64 in 150 first-class games. Due to war and health issues, he managed to play only ten Tests and scored 859 runs at an average of 47.72.

In 1936, he toured England and scored 1745 runs at an average of 51.32. His enormous success during that tour had earned him selection as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year. His last century in international cricket came at the age of 40. An enormous talent, Merchant was unlucky to have played only 10 Tests.

#3 Vijay Hazare

Hazare deserved to play more international cricket

Vijay Hazare made his reputation with his great performance on India's first tour of Australia in 1947-48 when he scored a century in both innings of the Adelaide Test. Australia scored a mammoth 674 runs & Hazare made 145, with India following on while six of his team-mates failed to score. Australia won by an innings and 16 runs but the match showed his ability to fight the odds.

He played 30 Tests and scored 2192 runs at an average of 47.65. In 238 first-class games, he scored 18740 runs at an average of 58.38. He made his Test debut at the age of 31 when the World War ended.

It was really unfortunate that he didn’t play more tests for India.

#4 Graeme Pollock

Graeme Pollock was an amazing batsman

Graeme Pollock was one of the best left-handers the game has ever seen. Though his career was cut short by the isolation of South Africa, he played 23 Tests and scored 2256 runs at an average of 60.97 with seven centuries.

His highest score of 274 was for many years the South African Test record. Cricket would have surely loved to see more of his batting prowess at the highest level, which would have in all probability managed to match the greatest umbers in the sport.

#5 Brad Hodge

Brad Hodge was unfortunate to be born in the wrong era

Brad Hodge is perhaps the unluckiest modern day cricketer. It was his misfortune that his peak cricketing years coincided with probably the best Australian team in history. He has till now managed to play only 6 Tests and scored 503 runs at an average of 55.88. It includes a superb double hundred against a quality South African attack at the WACA, Perth. He also featured in only 25 ODIs.

In 223 first-class games, he scored 17084 runs at an average of 48.81 and is one of the most prolific run scorers in the domestic circuit. It was a tragedy that Hodge managed to play only so few matches for Australia.

#6 Clive Rice

Clive Rice missed out on a great career

Clive Rice was destined to go down in the history as one of the game’s greatest allrounders, but South Africa’s isolation in cricket meant he played only 3 ODIs in his international career. He made his first-class debut in 1969, a year before South Africa's last Test series prior to the isolation.

A prolific performer with both bat and ball besides being a strong captain, he lead the Proteas in all the 3 ODIs he played for the national team and by 1992, he was deemed too old to play for them. Had he got the opportunities, his name might have been mentioned along with the likes of Imran Khan, Ian Botham and the other great allrounders.

#7 Saba Karim

Saba Karim’s career was cut short by an eye injury

Saba Karim was a wicketkeeper who was also a capable batsman lower down the order. In the 120 first-class games he played, he scored 7310 runs at an average of 56.66. For a wicketkeeper his stats look extremely impressive.

Earlier in his career, he was overshadowed by the likes of Nayan Mongia and when he got his deserving chance, he was injured on his right eye while keeping to Anil Kumble during the Asia Cup at Dhaka and the injury ended his playing career. He was a promising talent but never got the adequate chances at the highest level.

#8 Charlie Parker

Parker is the third highest wicket taker in first class cricket history

Charlie Parker was one of the best slow left-arm bowlers in first-class cricket. His 3278 wickets are the third highest behind only Rhodes and Freeman in first-class cricket. In every summer from 1920 to 1935, he took over 100 wickets.

He managed to play only a single Test in which he picked up a brace but his bowling average of 19.46 in first-class cricket makes him one of the unluckiest cricketer in the world as he never got his due at the international level.

#9 Shane Bond

Shane Bond is one of New Zealand’s greatest ever fast bowler

Shane Bond ranks among the best fast bowler produced by New Zealand alongside Richard Hadlee. His pace was his biggest asset with swing adding venom to his bowling. He lifted his game against Australia and took 44 ODI wickets at 15.79 against them.

If pace was his biggest asset, it was his enemy as well. The workload of fast bowling brought a host of injuries and he missed more matches than he played. In 18 tests he picked up 87 wickets at an average of 22.09 and in 82 ODIs he picked up 147 wickets at an average of 20.88. He could have become an all-time great had he stayed fit.

#10 Ian Bishop

Injuries restricted Bishop’s career to 43 Tests

Ian Bishop was one of the most promising fast bowlers West Indies had after the era of the great fast bowlers of 70’s and 80’s. He played 43 tests and picked up 161 wickets at an average of 24.27 and in 84 ODIs he picked up 118 wickets at an average of 26.50.

After stress fractures of the vertebrae were diagnosed early in 1991, he underwent rehabilitation and modified his action. He was still pretty successfull but injuries kept on troubling him and a promising career remained unfulfilled.

#11 Vince van der Bijl

Vince van der Bijl (middle) alongside Gary Kirsten and David Richardson

Vince van der Bijl was one of the best bowlers not to play Test cricket as his career was cut short by the sporting isolation of South Africa. He stood at 6ft 7½in and generated steep bounce. Combined with accuracy and pace, he was an extremely tough bowler to play.

He had an outstanding first-class career in which he played a total of 156 matches and picked up 767 wickets at an average of 16.54. He was also a handy lower order batsman and would have been a great joy to watch had he played at the highest level.