5 cricketers who have better Champions Trophy records than World Cup records

#2 Shane Watson

Watson played an instrumental role in helping Australia clinch successive Champions Trophy titles.

BATTING	Innings	Runs	Avg.	S.R.	50s	100s	Best
CT Record	17	453	41.18	82.81	2	2	136*
World Cup Record	19	643	53.58	108.07	6	0	94

BOWLING	Wickets	Avg.	S.R.	Econ.	4 WI	Best
CT Record	17	23.29	33.8	4.12	0	3-16
World Cup Record	9	62.89	73	5.17	0	1-9

Going by his numbers, Watson can be considered to be a proven performer not just in the Champions Trophy but also the ICC Cricket World Cup. Yet he finds himself on this list of players with a better record in the former than the latter as it was his performance in this event that was instrumental in helping Australia go on to win successive titles in 2006 and 2009.

The wily all-rounder was also a member of the World Cup winning squads in 2007 and 2015 but he was less instrumental in those tournaments.

‘Watto' returned with figures of 2-11 and scored a patient 57* in the final of the 2006 edition in a rain curtailed match against the defending champions, West Indies. In the semi final of 2009, he first helped restrict the English to a modest 257 and when he came out to open the innings, he scored an unbeaten 136, taking his team over the line in fine style.

In the final of the same tournament against trans-Tasmanian rivals New Zealand, the then 27-year old all-rounder scored his second unbeaten century on the trot as Australia managed to defend their title. At the peak of his cricketing prowess then, the burly Aussie was man of the match on all three occasions.

Addressing the press after the victory of 2009, Watson said, “These last two games really were the making of me as an international all-rounder. I only ever dreamed of being able to perform like I did in those last two games, so for that dream to become a reality, instilled an incredible confidence in my cricketing abilities.”