5 Players treated unfairly by the selectors

Graeme Onions

Sustained success at the county level wasn't enough for Onions to impress selectors

Towards the end of the previous decade, it seemed that England were blessed with an unending supply of high-quality pace bowlers. One of them who impressed everyone with his performances was Graeme Onions from Durham.

He made an impressive debut in the 2009 home Ashes series but missed a lot of subsequent cricket due to injury. He returned to county cricket eventually and by 2012 seemed to be back at the top of his game.

A typical English bowler, Onions was adept at moving the ball in the air and off the deck. When England decided to rest both James Anderson and Stuart Broad for the final Test of the three-match series against West Indies in 2012, Onions was brought back into the team and he emerged as the best bowler on show with a 4-fer in the first innings.

His performance in county circuit continued to improve and by 2013, he was England’s best bowler outside international cricket and some even suggested, the best bowler not playing Test cricket in the world.

He got picked for the 2013 home Ashes series and was in the squad when a Test took place at his home ground Durham. But not only was he ignored for the playing XI in that Test but never got an opportunity to play again for England after his appearance against West Indies.

Having produced excellent results for his county team and performed well for the national team also, when picked, surely Onions deserved more chances. Who knows, he may well have emerged as the second-best swing bowler after James Anderson.