10 Australian players who failed to live up to their potential

Ever since the beginning of international cricket, Australia have been fortunate to have had a plethora of players of top-notch ability across all formats. Whether it is a Don Bradman, a Dennis Lillee or a Shane Warne, they have never had a shortage of cricketers who have played a defining role in helping their team achieve success.

Like every other country, though, they have also had a fair share of players who were unable to fulfill their immense potential.

Here are 10 Australian players who failed to live up to their potential:

(Note: In cases where a particular format is mentioned next to the concerned player, it refers to the format where they didn’t quite do justice to their cricketing ability)

1. Michael Bevan (Tests)

Michael Bevan

Widely acknowledged as one of the best finishers the game has ever seen, Michael Bevan was the chief architect of many historic ODI wins that Australia had in the 1990s and 2000s. With an ODI record of 6912 runs from 232 matches at an average of 53.58, no one argues regarding Bevan’s class as an ODI player.

However, he did not taste anywhere near the same joy in Tests where his weaknesses to the short ball were tested and exposed by the opposition. Despite numerous attempts at carving a successful Test career, his Test career was eventually limited to 785 runs from 18 Tests at an underwhelming average of 29.07 with not a single century to his name.

2. Mark Waugh (Tests)

Mark Waugh

While Mark Waugh is considered an Australian great and was recently inducted into Australian cricket’s Hall of Fame, he arguably did not realise the abundant potential he had as a batsman. Blessed with the ability to stroke the ball with consummate ease, he made things look incredibly easy when at his best and could even make opposition players stand and applaud some of his strokeplay.

With that being the case, he should have definitely done better than his 8029 runs from 128 Tests at an average of 41.81 with 20 centuries. While he always looked pretty with the bat in hand, he would often be guilty of throwing away his wicket. The fact that his highest score in Test cricket was just 153* also indicates that he lacked the penchant for big scores.

In ODI cricket, however, he did full justice to his ability as he scored 8500 runs from 244 ODIs at an average just under 40.

3. Stuart Clark

The lanky bowler from New South Wales had the knack of bowling the right lengths with pin-point accuracy and used his height to generate a considerable amount of bounce. He had a dream debut series against South Africa in Test cricket, bagging the Man of the Series for his 15 wickets at a mind-boggling average of 15.75.

With 26 wickets in Australia’s 5-0 whitewash of England in the 2006/07 Ashes series, Clark was the leading wicket-taker in the series, which was quite an achievement considering he had bowlers of the ilk of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne in the series.

However, he failed to match his early success and eventually fell out of favour with the selectors. Despite having all the qualities of a top-notch seam bowler, he played just 24 Tests and 39 ODIs, taking 94 and 53 wickets respectively.

4. Shaun Marsh

Shaun Marsh

A consistent domestic summer followed by his exploits in the inaugural season of the IPL earned Shaun Marsh a national call-up in the year 2008. Initially given a chance in the shorter formats, Marsh had to wait three more years before his Test debut. He started off with a bang, becoming one of a select group of Australians to have scored a century on their Test debut.

It seemed like Marsh was here to stay for a long time, but a combination of patchy form and injuries have proven to be his downfall on numerous occasions. One of the lowest moments of his career was when he managed just 17 runs from 4 Tests in the home series against India in 2011/12, at an appalling average of 2.83.

Unlike many others in this list, though, Marsh has a chance to resurrect his career and establish himself in the side. Considering the visual pleasure he gives with his strokeplay, one sincerely hopes he does so.

5. Marcus North

After not getting any rewards for his toil in domestic cricket for many years, Marcus North was finally rewarded with a national call-up in 2009. He showed why he should have got a chance much earlier as he racked up a very fine century on his Test debut against South Africa before adding three more to his tally during the 2009 Ashes series.

However, he failed to maintain his early form for too much longer and he was ultimately dropped from the team during the 2010/11 Ashes series. While the left-hander has continued enjoying relative success at the domestic level, it is unlikely that he will make a comeback at the very highest level.

6. Shaun Tait

Shaun Tait

It is not very often that we get to see bowlers capable of bowling at a speed around 155-160 kmph, but Shaun Tait is one among a rare breed. Perhaps, this is why the fact that Tait has managed to play just 57 international matches (3 Tests, 35 ODIs and 19 T20Is) is a bigger disappointment than it would have otherwise been.

While he has a tendency to be inconsistent, he can win a match on his own on his day courtesy of his raw pace. The drawback of his ability to bowl insanely quick, though, is the fact that he has been hampered by injuries throughout his career and has never been able to sustain his form for a prolonged period.

7. Cameron White

Cameron White

At one point, it looked as if Cameron White would be a future Australian star, even drawing comparisons to the great Shane Warne. He was a complete package with his leg spin, destructive batting and captaincy attributes. While the Australian selectors initially saw White as a leg spinner, he accomplished himself as a hard-hitter.

Though he did not enjoy success in the five-day format, he was productive in the shorter formats. He was appointed the captain of the T20 team in 2011 and proved his abilities in the IPL too. He lost favour in 2011 after a poor World Cup campaign and also lost his T20 captaincy to George Bailey eventually.

He still has enough time to have a reasonable international career, but it looks as though he won’t be able to fulfill the early expectations that were placed on him.

8. Brad Williams

He was one of those players who was earmarked as a future star with quite a lot of potential. The Victorian had scorching pace at his disposal and was expected to take world cricket by storm at one point. A purple patch with 50 wickets in the 2001 domestic season paved the way for his national call-up.

Hampered by many injuries that come with the territory of being a fast bowler, he failed to have a fruitful international career as he played only 4 Tests and 25 ODIs.

9. Greg Blewett

Considering the fact that Greg Blewett was considered one of the most talented batsmen in Australian cricket in the 1990s, he should have had a more successful international than he ended up having. While he scored more than 17000 runs in first-class cricket at an average just under 45, he managed just 2552 runs at an average of 34.02. His ODI career was even more disappointing, scoring just 551 runs from 34 ODIs at an average around 20.

Unlike Stuart Law, a contemporary of his who was equally talented but played only 2 Tests, Blewett cannot complain of not having had enough opportunities as he played no less than 46 Tests and should have cemented his place in the side by that stage.

10. Nathan Bracken (Tests)

Nathan Bracken

With the ability to swing the ball both ways, the left-arm pacer was an integral part of the successful Australian ODI side during the mid-2000s. In 116 ODIs, he took 174 wickets at an excellent average and economy rate of 24.36 and 4.41 respectively, helping him enjoying the status of being the No.1 ODI bowler in the world for quite some time.

However, it is safe to say that his Test career was hugely unsatisfactory as he played only 5 Tests and took 12 wickets at an expensive average exceeding 40 and a strike rate close to 100.