'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
There have been several cricketers recently who have blossomed after having had tough beginnings to their international careers. They have helped their side win many games by playing crucial innings and are now considered to be almost the lynchpins for their side, rounding off a remarkable turnaround in fortunes.Here’s a look at 5 of the most improved cricketers recently:
#5 Brendon McCullum
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum has always been known as someone who is capable of playing cameo innings for whichever side he plays for. But, 2014 turned out to be the year when McCullum showed the world that he could play long innings as well when he became the first Black Caps cricketer to score a triple hundred in Test cricket, smashing 302 against India at Wellington. Later in the year, he scored a brilliant 188-ball 202 against Pakistan in Sharjah, which included 21 fours and an astonishing 11 sixes.
There was never any doubt about McCullum’s ability in the limited-overs format of the game, but he didn’t have the best of times in ODIs in 2014, scoring just 183 runs in 11 matches and 223 runs in T20 Internationals.
Here’s a video of McCullum’s triple hundred versus India:
#4 Glenn Maxwell
Australia’s Glenn Maxwell might not have had the best year in Test or One-Day Cricket for Australia, but he certainly had a great year in the T20 format of the game. He was one of Australia’s few bright spots in their disappointing World T20 campaign, scoring 147 runs in 4 matches.
Following that tournament, Maxwell came to India to play in the Indian Premier League. He didn’t have the greatest of times in 2013 while playing for the Mumbai Indians but proved to be one of the key men for his new franchise, Kings XI Punjab, and helped them win several games on his own. He was particularly devastating in the two games against the Chennai Super Kings, where he scored breath-taking 90s to help his side beat the Yellow Brigade.
Maxwell didn't have the same kind of impact while playing for Australia, though, scoring just 41 runs in the one Test that he played against Pakistan in the UAE. He played 17 ODIs for his country in 2014, scoring 380 runs with a best of 93 that came against Zimbabwe.
If the right-hander does manage to keep a stable head, he could be as dangerous for Australia as he has been for his IPL franchise.
Here’s a video of his innings of 90 against Chennai Superkings in Cuttack.
#3 Angelo Mathews
Sri Lanka’s Test and ODI captain Angelo Mathews had a very good 2014 with the bat. The right-hander amassed 1044 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 80.30 that included a match-winning 160 against England at Headingley in June, which helped his side register a famous series win in England.
He also had a good time on the field against Pakistan, scoring 362 runs in 4 matches at an average of 72.40. In the two Tests against South Africa at home, Mathews scored 242 runs at an astonishing average of 121. He also scored 134 runs in the series against Bangladesh, at an average of 67.
Mathews had a good time in the limited-overs format of the game as well, scoring 1244 runs in 32 ODIs and led the Lankans to an Asia Cup triumph in Bangladesh in March.
He was also part of the Sri Lankan team that beat India in the final to lift the World T20 title in Dhaka in April.
The 27-year-old has become the crisis man for the Lankans, scoring crucial runs for his side when it matters the most and with the retirement of Mahela Jayawardene from Test Cricket, he certainly has an added responsibility of shouldering the Sri Lankan batting line-up and scoring many more big hundreds for his side.
Mathews was also handy with the ball picking up 7 wickets in Tests, 18 in ODIs and 6 in T20s in the year 2014.
#2 Steven Smith
2014 will undoubtedly go down as Steven Smith’s best year in his short yet very promising career so far. The 25-year-old had a great start to the year, scoring a hundred in the New Year’s Test against England in Sydney. He showed that he can play equally well in overseas conditions as well when he played an important role in Australia’s 2-1 series triumph in South Africa, scoring 267 runs in 3 Tests, that included a 100 at Centurion.
He carried his good form into the Test series against Pakistan in the UAE, where he used his feet brilliantly and scored a gritty 97 in the fourth innings of the second Test on turning wickets against the likes of Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah, at Abu Dhabi.
He began the current Australian summer with a bang, scoring a century in the very first innings of the first Test at Adelaide and backed that up with yet another hundred in Brisbane. Smith had a fine 2013 as well.
He will be looking to score his third century in as many Tests in the Boxing Day Test, starting in Melbourne on Friday.
Smith’s performance in the ODI format has also been good. He scored 541 runs in the 12 ODIs that he played in 2014 at an average of 49.18 that included 2 centuries, including a match-winning 104 against South Africa at Melbourne.
Initially starting off as a leg-spinner, Smith had a tendency to get out early on in his innings at the start of his career, but he certainly has now grown into a full-fledged batsman and is a key man in Australia’s middle-order.
Here’s a video of Smith innings against England at Sydney at the start of the year
#1 Murali Vijay
India opener Murali Vijay has had a very good 2014, scoring 773 runs in the 9 Tests that he has played. He didn't have greatest of starts to the year though, scoring just 46 runs in the two matches in New Zealand at an average of 12. However, few months later, the right-hander began the tour of England with a bang, scoring a century in the very first Test at Trent Bridge.
However, a much more significant contribution from him came in the second innings of the second Test at Lord’s, where he scored a fine 95 and helped India script a famous win at the “Home of Cricket” after 28 years.
Though his form tapered off a bit following that performance, he amassed a total of 402 runs in 10 innings in England and was one of India’s bright spots in an otherwise poor tour. He has so far made a very good start in the ongoing Test series against Australia, having scored two fifties and a hundred in the two Tests.
Vijay has seen some tough times in his career, having been dropped from the squad after a poor tour of the West Indies in 2011, but courtesy some strong performances in the domestic circuit, he made a comeback into the Indian squad in 2013 and hasn't looked back since.
He will be hoping to finish the year off on a high by playing yet another long innings in the third Test of the series starting in Melbourne on Friday.
