 "Buttler to Bavuma: Top five disappointments of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023")
The 2023 edition of the World Cup saw many brilliant performances from established names like Virat Kohli, David Warner, and others. But at the same time, many disappointments were also witnessed when big names like Jos Buttler, Temba Bavuma, and Babar Azam failed to perform as per expectations. Here’s the list of the top five players who were billed to perform well but failed big time.
Jos Buttler
Jos Buttler was supposed to defend the title that Eoin Morgan won in 2019. However, the start to the defence was flat as New Zealand defeated the defending champions by nine wickets. Buttler was seen searching for ideas as his bowling changes did not work. Though he scored 43 in this game, since then it went from bad to worse for the Lancashire man as he could manage to score only 95 more runs in the next innings at an average of less than 12.
Temba Bavuma
As a captain, there was no doubt about Temba Bavuma’s ability to inspire his men, make the right bowling changes, and create perfect field settings to trap the opposition batters. But where Bavuma failed was in his batting, and because of that, South Africa suffered big time. Not even a single fifty in the eight innings and then getting out on a duck in the all-important semi-final meant that Bavuma let his team down when it mattered the most.
Babar Azam
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With Babar Azam, it was the opposite as he was still able to do things with the bat, but with captaincy, every change he made was disappointing. With 340 runs in nine innings at an average of 40, it could still be taken in ODIs if the other batters performed alongside him. However, the others failed when he failed, and bowlers failed big time, making Babar look very bad as a captain and as a player too. He failed to shine in big games, which was the biggest downfall.
Shakib Al Hasan
Bangladesh was supposed to be a big surprise package and a party pooper for big teams if not a contender. They finished at the sixth point in the World Cup Super League. However, with the pre-tournament mess around the team selection, the focus was shifted.
Still, Shakib Al Hasan, the talismanic all-rounder who scored more than 500 runs in the 2019 World Cup and also contributed with the ball in a great manner, was supposed to lead them well. However, it was his failure that became the focal point of Bangladesh’s poor show. Shakib had only one fifty and nine wickets in total in the seven matches that he played. His injury also became a major concern for the team.
Mark Wood
With only six wickets in seven matches, Mark Wood failed miserably in this World Cup. Being the strike bowler for England in the absence of Jofra Archer, he was supposed to lead the pack but became too heavy to even be carried in the pack. Wood’s economy rate was never going to be the problem because he gave runs but took wickets as well. But this time around it was his strike rate that was dismal to look at (54.6). In part, Wood and Buttler’s failure with bat and ball contributed to the England team’s failure in this World Cup as a whole.