10 Australian players who failed to live up to their potential

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.