World Cup 2019 : 3 batsmen with the most ducks in the tournament

The 12th edition of the most prestigious cricket tournament of the world, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 ended on 14th July with a cliffhanger between New Zealand and England. After the two teams played out ties in the main game as well as the super over, the hosts took the trophy home thanks to their superior number of boundaries.

This World Cup saw some stellar performances from Rohit Sharma, Shakib Al Hasan, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Kane Williamson and others. Though the English conditions favored the bowlers, the batsmen dominated the proceedings on flatter tracks.

While a majority of the big names had a great run in the tournament, there were a few batsmen who did not have a great World Cup. These batsmen failed to show up on the big stage and their batting was devoid of consistency.

Here, in this article we will have a look at the three batsmen who finished with the most ducks in the 2019 World Cup.

Note: Only batsmen and prominent all-rounders are considered for this list. Fewer innings played is used as a tie-breaker.

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#3 Marcus Stoinis - 2

Marcus Stoinis batting against New Zealand

Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis did not live up to expectations in the batting department. The right-handed batsman could only score 87 runs in the tournament at a lowly average of 14.50. He failed to cross the 50+ run mark in even a single innings of the 2019 World Cup.

Owing to the all-rounder's poor form with the bat, wicket-keeper batsman Alex Carey and fast bowler Nathan Coulter Nile had to step up and deliver the goods with the bat.

Stoinis registered two ducks in the tournament. The first one came against India when Bhuvneshwar Kumar rattled his stumps on the second ball of his innings. Stoinis' next duck came in the big semifinal game versus England.

Coming to bat at a moment when Australia needed someone to stabilize the innings, Stoinis lost his wicket as he was caught right in front of the stumps by a fantastic delivery from leg-spinner Adil Rashid.

#2 Angelo Mathews - 2

England v Sri Lanka - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews showed great form in the latter phase of the tournament. Matthews recorded one half century and one century for his team in the 2019 World Cup.

He finished with 244 runs in the 7 matches at a batting average of 40.66, but should have had a better season, with experience on his side that could have seen his side sail into the semifinals.

In Sri Lanka's tournament opener versus New Zealand, the all-rounder struggled in the middle for 8 balls. His innings ended when he handed a catch to keeper Tom Latham off Colin de Grandhomme's bowling. New Zealand had thrashed Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in that encounter.

Next up, the Lankan Lions faced Afghanistan in the league phase. Batting first at Cardiff, Sri Lanka got off to a terrific start thanks to their openers. However, the middle order suffered a collapse as the Afghan spinners troubled Sri Lanka. The experienced Angelo Mathews too conceded his wicket in the collapse.

Mohammad Nabi scalped his wicket on the final ball of the 22nd over as Mathews edged the delivery straight into the hands of slip fielder, Rahmat Shah to record his second duck.

#1 Shoaib Malik - 2

Shoaib Malik after losing his wicket against Australia

Pakistan veteran Shoaib Malik had one of the worst finishes to his career as the all-rounder featured in only only games, from which he registered two ducks. Malik only notched up eight runs from the three games combined.

The right-handed batsman could not make it to the playing XI for the match against West Indies. As the batting line-up collapsed against West Indies, the team management included Malik for the fixture versus England. The middle order batsman scored only 8 runs that day but he picked a wicket in the English innings.

He was retained in the playing XI for the match against Australia. The Aussies had set a stiff target for the Men in Green. Malik came in to bat in a crunch situation but was soon sent back by Pat Cummins in the second ball he faced.

He could not open his account in that match. Next, in the all important clash against India, the experienced all-rounder once again came out to bat in a pressure situation. However, Hardik Pandya cleaned him up on the very first ball. Pakistan lost both of the matches and hence, Malik was axed in favor of Haris Sohail.