5 talented cricketers who have gone off the radar

#2 Michael Lumb

Last International Appearance: March 2014

When Michael Lumb donned the England shirt for the first time in the World T20 in 2010, it seemed like his years of hard work in England’s county circuit had paid off. He had a decent tournament with the bat as he scored 137 runs at an average of almost 20 and an impressive strike rate of 141.24. In almost every game, he got England off to a quick start and was one of the major reasons behind England’s success in the tournament.

ODIs

Though Joe, as Lumb is nicknamed, made his T20I debut in 2010, he had to wait for 4 long years to get his first ODI cap. He made it count yet again as he slammed a ton on debut. Overall, he has played just 3 ODIs till date scoring 165 runs at an average of 55 and a strike rate of 81.28.

Soon after his maiden ODI series, he picked up an injury in the Natwest Championship. His absence from the national team also coincided with the emergence of new stars like Moeen Ali and Gary Ballance. This has led to his exclusion from England’s squad for the World Cup in spite of him being in decent form since his injury comeback.

T20Is

Early in his career, the 34-year old had been branded as a T20 specialist and he pretty much lived upto that name. Up until 2013, Lumb scored 383 runs at an average of 22.52 and a strike rate of 137.76. However, things did not go his way in 2014 as he scored 169 runs in 9 games at an average of 18.77 and a strike rate of 125.18.

His showing in the World T20 was particularly bad as he scored a mere 57 runs in 4 games at an average of 14.25 and a strike rate of 111.76. He was subsequently dropped from England’s T20 team.

The Way Back

At the age of 34, Lumb will have a difficult time in his attempt to get back into the English team as he does not have a lot of time on his side. Moreover, the youngsters who have come into the team have done a decent job thus far.

However, on the brighter side, he is doing well in the domestic leagues that he is playing in. In fact, with an aggregate of 230 runs he is amongst the top run-scorers in the Big Bash League this season.