10 English cricketers who failed to live up to their potential

Geraint Jones

Geraint Jones will be forever etched into England’s cricketing folklore for the diving catch which sealed a two-run win for his country at Edgbaston in the second Test of the 2005 Ashes series. Despite being a part of that great side, his England days were brief, spanning just three years in the mid-2000s as Matt Prior eventually usurped him as a more permanent replacement.

However, that didn’t signal the end of Jones’ international years and after over five years, he turned out for Papua New Guinea – the country of his birth – in an attempt to bolster their hopes of qualifying for the 2012 World T20. Back in England, he left long-time county Kent at the end of last season to play for Gloucestershire.

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Nick Knight batting for England in 1998

Nick Knight

A tale of two halves is generally a term reserved for football, but it can also be applied perfectly to Nick Knight. The left-hander thrilled in ODIs but made a habit of disappointing in the two-innings game. He played exactly 100 times for England in ODIs, crossing the half-century mark 30 times and reaching three figures on five occasions as he compiled an average above 40.

It was a different story in Tests though where Knight’s displayed an uneasiness. He was chosen 17 times between 1995 and 2001 but couldn’t deliver, scoring just one hundred and averaging below 24 – over 20 shy of what he mustered in first-class cricket. After losing his ODI place in 2003, Knight returned to Warwickshire for the final four seasons of his career.