The ‘Flop XI’ of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 group stage

After much consideration, the “Flop XI” selectors have spoken.

They came, they saw, they FLOPPED!

It’s a team we all have been waiting to criticise. These players have been consistently abysmal in the group stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and some of them have been outstandingly poor.

Here’s the “Flop XI” of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 group stage:

1. Quinton de Kock (South Africa)

South Africa’s Quinton de Kock falls in the “outstandingly poor” category of the Flop XI. Quinton de Kock scored 53 runs in 6 matches at an average of 8.83. Just 53 runs at a strike rate of 52.48 and an average of 8.83 are well below expectations.

2. Dwayne Smith (West Indies)

The West Indian batsman has always had reasonable T20 prodigy, having performed consistently in the IPL and other domestic T20 tournaments across the world. However, his performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 has been nothing short of abysmal. Smith has struggled to get going at the top of the batting order and has 93 runs in 6 matches at a strike rate of 80.17 and an average of 15.50.

3. Nasir Jamshed (Pakistan)

An abject failure since the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, Nasir Jamshed is surely the worst performer of the ICC Cricket World Cup, and the stats are there to back it up- 5 runs at a strike rate of 21.74 and an average of 1.67.

4. Garry Ballance (England)

Garry Ballance was drafted into England’s World Cup 2015 as a potential replacement for Kevin Pietersen. But his selection turned out to be a complete disaster, just like England’s World Cup 2015 campaign. Ballance scored 36 runs in 4 matches at an average of 9.00.

5. Eoin Morgan (England)

The England captain would want to forget the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 as soon as possible. But, having said this, it is not going to be very easy. Morgan, who was looked upon as the “backbone” of England’s batting unit, scored only 90 runs in 5 matches at a poor average of 18.00.

6. Luke Ronchi (New Zealand)

In the group stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, New Zealand’s wicketkeeper batsman Luke Ronchi mustered a meagre 56 runs at an average of 18.67. Crucially, he failed to step-up whenever the Kiwis were in a spot of bother and he gave away his wicket cheaply, only to put more pressure on the team.

7. Kevin O’Brien (Ireland)

Kevin O’Brien is the most destructive batsman of Ireland’s batting unit. But, in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, O’Brien failed to make any significant contribution with the bat. O’Brien managed to score only 131 runs in 6 matches at an average of 21.83.

8. Ravindra Jadeja (India)

Number of innings: 3

Runs scored: 18

Batting average: 6.00

Balls bowled: 292

Runs given: 259

Wickets: 7

These numbers are far below expectations for someone who was India’s first-choice all-rounder before the start of the World Cup 2015.

9. Stuart Broad (England)

4 wickets in 6 matches was a pretty average performance by England’s best strike bowler.

10. James Anderson (England)

Jimmy is just ahead of his mate Stuart with 5 wickets in 6 matches. Anderson was in good form in the tri-series against Australia and India, but he failed to make an impact in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. Just 5 wickets in 6 matches is far below expectations from a quality bowler like James Anderson.