Fifty-three ODIs without a fifty or a three-for

Until he biffed 80 off 76 balls against Australia in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy, Tim Bresnan had done little of note in his international career. In 14 ODIs before that game, Bresnan's highest score was 31 not out, his average was 27.66, and he had taken only 14 wickets at 42 apiece, and never more than two in an innings. So we dug up lists of players who never scored a half-century or took three wickets in an innings during their whole, mostly short, Test and one-day international careers. We also checked on who played the most matches before making a fifty or taking a three-for.

Matt Poore, a former New Zealand batsman and offspinner, had the longest Test career without scoring a half-century or taking more than three wickets in an innings. He played 14 matches between 1953 and 1956 and his 45 on debut against South Africa in Auckland remained his highest score. He made 170 runs in five Tests in South Africa but managed only 132 runs in his next 13 innings at home and in Pakistan and India. Poore's offbreaks were used in only 11 innings and coincidentally his best innings figures - 2 for 28 - came on debut against South Africa as well.

The most recent player in the table below is Sri Lanka's Jehan Mubarak, who played the last of his 10 Tests in December 2007. Mubarak made a steady, if unspectacular, start to his career, scoring 24, 31, 48, 15 and 34 in his first five innings. The problem of his inability to convert starts worsened and soon he was unable to get going at all. He was dropped after being dismissed for single-digit scores in five successive innings against England and hasn't been recalled since.

The last player in the table above is Dulip Samaraweera, brother of the better-known Thilan. An opening batsman, Dulip played seven Tests between 1993 and 1995, but his career never took flight. He made only 211 runs in 14 innings at an average of 15.07. His younger brother did not make the same mistakes. Thilan began his career with 103 against India at the SSC in 2001 and now averages nearly 52 after 54 Tests.

The second table is of players who took the longest (in terms of matches played) to register either a fifty or a three-wicket haul in Tests. Most of the top names are also in the table above. The succession of lesser-known players is broken by the appearance of Andrew Flintoff.

Flintoff went 11 Tests at the start of his career without a fifty or three wickets in an innings. His best with bat and ball was 42 and 2 for 31 against South Africa in Port Elizabeth in 1999, and he averaged under 15 per innings and over 58 per wicket during this period. In his 12th Test, Flintoff claimed 4 for 50 against India in Bangalore 2001, and in his 13th match, in Christchurch in 2002, he went past fifty for the first time, scoring 137 in England's 98-run win.

Former Australian batsman and captain Ian Chappell also had a slow start to his successful Test career. He made only 258 runs in his first nine Tests at an average of 18.42, with a high score of 49, before caning the Indian attack for 151 in Australia's innings-and-four-run victory at the MCG in 1968.

John Bracewell, the former New Zealand allrounder and coach, hit a century and four fifties during his 43-Test career, and took four five-fors and one 10-wicket haul as well. However, he didn't score a single half-century or take more than two wickets in a match in 53 one-day internationals. He averaged 16 with the bat and his highest score was 43 against England in Christchurch. His best effort with the ball was 2 for 3 against Australia in Adelaide - he averaged 57 per wicket - in New Zealand's 206-run victory.

One of the greatest ODI players, Sanath Jayasuriya, also had an extremely ordinary start to his career. It was only in his 29th ODI that he picked up more than two wickets in an innings for the first time - 3 for 33 against New Zealand at the Premadasa in 1992. Until then, he averaged 61.16 for his six wickets. He now averages 36.35 for his 322 scalps. With the bat Jayasuriya went without a half-century in his first 33 innings, averaging 11.12, before scoring 58 against Pakistan in October 1993. And it wasn't until his 71st ODI, against New Zealand in Bloemfontein in 1994, that he scored his first century.

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