5 lesser-known names that helped their teams to World Cup glory

When a team goes to a World Cup, their fans expect the star names to take them to glory. And who could blame them? After all, it is the big name players that give hope to the fans because of their extravagant skills.

However, the big names don’t always win you trophies. And even if they do, they need a helping hand from someone else. Often, that someone else turns out to be a player who is a relatively unknown name within the cricketing fraternity.

Just like Castrol Activ’s Actibonds help protect the engine by clinging on and forming a protective coat, these 5 unsung heroes turned up just when their teams needed their contribution, protecting them and helping them win.

And here are 5 such players who helped their teams to World Cup glory -

#5 Asanka Gurusinha

When one is asked to make a list of the greatest Sri Lankan batsmen of all time, names like Mahela Jayawardena, Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanath Jayasurya, Aravinda de Silva and Kumar Sangakkara would be the most common names.

However, only a very few people would write down Asanka Gurusinha’s name in their lists.

Some of you might be wondering who he is and why someone unknown like him should feature in a list of such importance. Simple: he was one of the founding pillars of the Sri Lankan team. In Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup win, he played a crucial role in almost every game.

His performances might have gone unnoticed due to Aravinda de Silva’s limelight-stealing shows, but it can never be undermined. He scored three 50s in the 1996 World Cup, with one of them being a match-defining 65 against Australia in the final—which helped Sri Lanka recover from 23/2 and chase down Australia’s target of 245.

Aravinda de Silva’s unbeaten innings of 107 grabbed all the attention, but his work under the shadows was just as important.

#4 Mike Veletta

This is a name that might cause some uproar, with almost everyone reading right now going: “who?”

Well, the basis of this list is players who helped their teams to glory while being a lesser-known name at that point of time. In Mike Veletta’s case, however, he was, is and will remain a relatively unknown name.

Not that he cares, though, as avid Australian fans—the ones that really matter to him—will remember his swashbuckling display in the 1987 World Cup. He played just 4 games in the tournament, starting off with a duck before making 43 and 48 against Zimbabwe and Pakistan, respectively.

These scores alone were impressive given that he used to bat in the lower middle-order, but he wasn’t done just yet. As Australia were lingering at 168-4 after 39 overs, there was a sense of pessimism because the Baggie Greens had lost 3 wickets in the space of 17 runs and a collapse was just a bad stroke away.

However, Veletta came in all-guns-blazing and played one of the best cameos in the history of a World Cup final, scoring 45 in just 31 balls and helping Australia post a comprehensive target of 254—which England failed to chase.

#3 Andy Bichel

When Australian fans take trips to the world of nostalgia, they replay the devastating bouncers of Brett Lee, Shane Warne’s unreal turn, Gilly’s master strokeplay, Ricky Ponting’s class and Hayden’s power in their minds—putting a smile on their faces.

Michael Bevan, Michael Hussey, Steve Waugh, Mark Waugh, Glenn McGrath… the list goes on and on. These are the guys who have carved a space for themselves in the hearts of the fans. However, very few hearts will have a home with Andy Bichel residing in it.

However, when it comes to their glory at the 2003 World Cup, Andy Bichel played a highly significant role. Australia’s immeasurable batting strength meant that Bichel rarely got the chance to bat in the tournament, but when he did, he did really well.

In the three innings that he got to bat, he was unbeaten twice and scored 117 runs with an average of 117. It was his bowling, however, that made more waves. His 7-wicket spell against England remains one of the greatest displays of bowling in a World Cup.

By the time the tournament ended, he had picked up 16 wickets in 8 games at an average of 12.31—the best among bowlers with over 50 overs to their name in that World Cup.

#2 Craig Kieswetter

After the 2010 World T20I, he became somewhat popular—largely thanks to his wonderful display for the England team. Before going to the tournament, however, only keen county cricket watchers and addicts of the game named International Cricket Captain knew of his existence.

And there was a reason why he shot to fame after that particular tournament.

Like Jos Buttler has done in this tournament, smashing the bowlers out of the park, Craig Kieswetter followed a similar footprint. He went after every bowling line-up that he faced and he did so without any fear.

Daredevil is known as the ‘man without fear’ for his vigilant acts despite being blind. Kieswetter could be labelled the same, though he has eyes. In that World Cup, he never got out without getting a start and his best performance came in the final against Australia.

Chasing a target of 148, Kieswetter made no attempts to play slowly and settle down as he played a blazing innings of 63 off just 49 balls—helping England win their first World Cup in cricket.

#1 Joginder Sharma

To this day, he is fondly remembered as MS Dhoni’s lucky charm. The decision to take him to South Africa itself was found absurd by many fans as genuine medium-pace bowlers aren’t really seen as genuine bowlers.

While this claim might sound ridiculous, it is sadly true. These days, a bowler is either a spinner or a fast medium who bowls at 130kmph regularly—medium pacers, the 100-110kmph bowlers, no longer exist. And Joginder Sharma was the last of them.

Playing only four games in the World T20Is, he etched his name forever as no-one can ever forget his last over against Pakistan in the final. Incidentally, those were the only four matches he ever played for India in T20Is.

In his first game against England, he gave away 57 runs and picked up no wickets—befuddling Indian fans even more.

However, in the next 3 games, he gave away only 81 runs and picked up 4 wickets—with his all-important last-over against Pakistan, winning the World Cup for India.