When one-day cricket originated, people weren't aware of how the gameplay needs to change from Test cricket. With just 60 overs per side, teams still scored below 300 consistently, sticking to the tried and tested approach of batting time.
Then came along the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Shahid Afridi and Adam Gilchrist, and one-day cricket became a whole new ball game. The trend changed even more when T20 cricket became hot news.
A plethora of hard hitters, previously confined to their domestic teams and sometimes not even in them, were suddenly in high demand. A score of 160-180 was considered match winning in the early days of T20 cricket.
That, however, changed when Brendon McCullum, that flamboyant Kiwi opener slammed a 158 in the inaugural T20 match of the Indian Premier League in 2008. The whole perspective of T20 cricket changed on that day, as 200+ scores became more commonplace.
Most of these transformations came due to players who had a thing for particular formats of the game. We usually tend to associate Rahul Dravid with Test cricket, Shahid Afridi with ODI cricket and Chris Gayle with T20 cricket. This is because we know that their style of playing is suited to the particular format.
But aren't there many players who we feel would have been a huge success in a particular format, but who could never come to terms with that format?
Here we take a look at five prominent would-be stars of each format who did not play up to their own level of expectations in a format that supposedly made for them.
#5 Graham Thorpe (England) – ODIs
The sturdy England middle order batsman was a player who would thrive on rotating the strike and keeping the scoreboard ticking. He scored a brilliant hundred in just his second innings in Test cricket and went on to become a stalwart in Tests for England.
With his stroke-play and ability to rotate the strike constantly, Thorpe was expected to be a huge success in ODIs. However, the middle order batsman had a below par ODI career, where he made 2380 runs in 82 ODIs at an average of 37.18 with zero hundreds. His inability to carry forward after going past a half-century, which he made 21 times, frustrated England fans.
But was his failure in ODIs really a surprise? Probably not.
Thorpe had made more than 10,000 runs in List A cricket with 80 half-centuries. But the England batsman had just 9 List A hundreds despite playing in more than 350 games. His tendency to get out after his half-century merely continued in ODIs.
#4 Michael Bevan (Australia)- Tests
Hailed as the greatest finisher of his times in One Day Internationals, Australian lower middle order batsman, Michael Bevan had an inauspicious Test career. Possessing a shrewd cricketing brain, Bevan could manipulate the field at will and had the technique to survive in Test cricket.
However, contrary to expectations, Bevan could never replicate his One Day heroics in the longest format of the game. A disappointing average of 29.07 after 18 Tests saw him being dumped from the Test team. This was in spite of averaging a whopping 57 in First Class cricket.
Bevan's inability to transform his First-class and One Day form to Tests was considered an unknown mystery.
But it really was a technical glitch that prevented him from succeeding. His issues with the short pitch delivery halted his Test career. International bowlers could exploit his weakness to perfection in Tests. In ODIs, where only one short ball per over was allowed at the time, he continued to flourish.
#3 Mark Ramprakash (England) – Tests
A domestic hero, Mark Ramprakash was among the most gifted batsmen in the county circuit. At 21, he was selected for England but failed to make a mark. He continued to have a stop-start International career but never could show at least half of the success he had in County Cricket.
Ramprakash averaged above 100 in two successive seasons for Surrey Cricket Club and had an overall First-class average of 40+, scoring 13,273 runs. But in Tests, the numbers took a hit as he averaged just 27.32 in 52 Tests with just two hundreds as against 114 in First-class cricket.
Even the quality of County cricket came under scrutiny after Ramprakash's unceremonious Test career. But it wasn't as complex as many thought. Ramprakash, despite racking up tons of runs, never could kick on after getting starts in his Test career.
Only two of his fourteen scores above 50 were converted to hundreds and the lack of those big hundreds contributed to him lacking confidence in International Cricket.
#2 Michael Slater (Australia) - ODIs
A modern batsman in the 90's era, Slater had a vicious front foot pull shot and a flamboyant style of batting that you would normally associate with an ODI player. Despite his issues in the 90s, the opening batsman had a successful Test career racking up 5312 runs in 74 Tests at an average of 42.83.
Expected to be a huge success in ODIs, Slater rarely managed to replicate his Test success in the shorter format. In 42 ODIs, Slater scored just 987 runs with zero hundred and nine half-centuries. He could not even get to nineties in ODIs with a highest score of 73.
But Australia showed poor judgement in thinking he would be a hit in One Day cricket. His List A stats reveal that Slater had never been a success in shorter formats. He averaged just 26.52 in List A cricket in 135 games and scored just two hundreds. His Test career too faded off after the emergence of Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer.
#1 AB de Villiers (South Africa) - T20I
A modern day genius, the South African ODI skipper holds the record for the fastest 50, 100 and 150 in One Day cricket. A revolutionary batsman with a strong technique and impeccable balance, De Villiers is believed to have more than one shot for every ball.
His 360° style of batting meant that De Villiers was considered a sure shot success in the shortest format of the game. He averages 33.61 in domestic T20s with three hundreds. But his T20I stats are rather poor for his standards. A lowly average of 24.28 with a highest of 79* is by no means justified for a talent like him.
De Villiers even exploded in T20s for IPL franchise, Royal Challengers Bangalore. So it wasn't a case of his style not suiting the format. A closer peek reveals that South Africa haven't used him wisely enough in the format.
He has been made to come in after the 10th over on the back of stats that say he is more successful there. But it takes a toll on his effectiveness, which is on its peak when he has more balls to play. He was later asked to open in T20Is but was soon moved back down the order despite showing signs of enjoying his new role.
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