World Cup successes and failures

Which fleet-footed batsman averages 44.54 in 192 one-day internationals but lifts it to 97.83 in World Cup games? Which tough-as-nails captain had an ODI average of 30 but only 18 in the World Cup? Who averages 34 with the ball overall, but takes World Cup wickets at 18.50 apiece with his legbreaks? And which fearsome fast bowler took wickets at 20.82 each in a 63-ODI career, but at 33.33 during the World Cup? The answers are in the tables below …

The largest differences between batting averages in World Cups and career average belong to Lance Klusener and Andrew Symonds. Dismissing Klusener was a rare feat in World Cups. In 14 innings spread over 1999, when he was Player of the Tournament, and 2003, Klusener was unbeaten in 11. As a result he averaged 124 in World Cups, even though he only had 372 runs, with a high score of 57. He faced a mere 307 balls, though. The only bowlers to dismiss him were an Australian, a New Zealander and a West Indian. Who were they? Klusener, however, had the misfortune of remaining not out during the tied matches in 1999 and 2003 that resulted in South Africa's elimination from the competitions. He had a career average of 41, 83 runs below his World Cup average.

Symonds made a splash in his first World Cup match - smashing 143 against Pakistan in 2003 and entering a beamer-provoked altercation with Waqar Younis. He batted only four more times in that tournament and made 59, 0, 33* and 91*, ending it with a World Cup average of 163. His effort in 2007 was less impressive - he averaged 63 - and he ended with a tournament average of 103. His overall ODI mean was 39.75.

Largest difference in batting average in World Cups compared to ODI career (qualification: 10 innings)

Player	Span		Mat	Runs	HS	Ave	100		WC	Runs	HS	Ave	100		Diff
L Klusener (SA)	1999-2003		171	3576	103*	41.10	2		14	372	57	124.00	0		82.896
A Symonds (Aus)	2003-2007		198	5088	156	39.75	6		18	515	143*	103.00	1		63.250
MJ Clarke (Aus)	2007-2011		192	6103	130	44.54	5		14	587	93*	97.83	0		53.285
SB Styris (NZ)	2003-2011		185	4404	141	32.62	4		22	830	141	63.84	2		31.223
DI Gower (Eng)	1979-1983		114	3170	158	30.77	7		12	434	130	54.25	1		23.473
R Dravid (India)	1999-2007		339	10765	153	39.43	12		22	860	145	61.42	2		21.996
Rameez Raja (Pak)	1987-1996		198	5841	119*	32.09	9		16	700	119*	53.84	3		21.752
HH Gibbs (SA)	1999-2007		248	8094	175	36.13	21		25	1067	143	56.15	2		20.023
AC Hudson (SA)	1992-1996		89	2559	161	29.41	2		12	571	161	47.58	1		18.169
DC Boon (Aus)	1987-1992		181	5964	122	37.04	5		16	815	100	54.33	2		17.289
GP Thorpe (Eng)	1996-1999		82	2380	89	37.18	0		11	379	89	54.14	0		16.955
MD Crowe (NZ)	1983-1992		143	4704	107*	38.55	4		21	880	100*	55.00	1		16.442
IVA Richards (WI)	1975-1987		187	6721	189*	47.00	11		23	1013	181	63.31	3		16.312
SR Waugh (Aus)	1987-1999		325	7569	120*	32.90	3		33	978	120*	48.90	1		15.991
SC Ganguly (India)	1999-2007		311	11363	183	41.02	22		21	1006	183	55.88	4		14.867
Saeed Anwar (Pak)	1996-2003		247	8824	194	39.21	20		21	915	113*	53.82	3		14.605
GP Howarth (NZ)	1975-1983		70	1384	76	23.06	0		11	374	76	37.40	0		14.333
GM Turner (NZ)	1975-1983		41	1598	171*	47.00	3		14	612	171*	61.20	2		14.200
SR Tendulkar (India)	1992-2011		449	17953	200*	45.22	48		41	2120	152	58.88	6		13.667
ME Waugh (Aus)	1992-1999		244	8500	173	39.35	18		22	1004	130	52.84	4		13.490

Eoin Morgan is in England's squad only because Kevin Pietersen had to return home for hernia surgery, and he'll be grateful for the opportunity to improve on his poor World Cup record. Morgan travelled to the 2007 tournament in the Carribean with Ireland. He crashed and burned there whilst his team-mates shone: he made only 91 runs in nine innings. His half-century on his England World Cup debut in the 2011 tournament lifted his average from 10.11 to 15.40, and he'll be looking to further bridge the gap to his career mean of 38.56.

In last week's column, we touched upon Carl Hooper's erratic World Cup appearances. He played in 1987 and 1992, pulled out of the 1996 tournament at the last minute, and retired in the lead-up to 1999, after which he returned to captain West Indies in 2003. For a vastly talented batsman, Hooper was poor in World Cups, averaging 14 in 1987, 20 in 1992 and 19.80 in 2003. He did not score a century in the World Cup and his high score was 63 - his solitary World Cup half-century.

Poor performances from Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf were significant reasons why Pakistan did not go far in 2003 and 2007. Inzamam announced himself with pivotal innings in the 1992 tournament, in which he averaged 22.50. He had satisfactory competitions in 1992 and 1999, but 2003 was a disaster - he scored only 19 runs in six innings in South Africa, averaging 3.16, and Pakistan were eliminated from the Super Six. In 2007, Inzamam averaged only 24.66 in three innings and they didn't make it past the group stage. His overall World Cup average is only 23.90, compared to his career average of 39.52.

Largest difference in batting average in World Cups compared to ODI career (qualification: 10 innings)

Player	Span		Mat	Runs	HS	Ave	100		WC	Runs	HS	Ave	100		Diff
EJG Morgan (Eng/Ire)	2007-2011		62	1967	115	38.56	4		10	154	63	15.40	0		-23.168
M Prabhakar (India)	1987-1996		130	1858	106	24.12	2		19	45	11*	5.00	0		-19.129
CL Hooper (WI)	1987-2003		227	5761	113*	35.34	7		20	261	63	18.64	0		-16.700
Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak)	1992-2007		378	11739	137*	39.52	10		35	717	81	23.90	0		-15.625
NJ Astle (NZ)	1996-2003		223	7090	145*	34.92	16		22	403	102*	20.15	2		-14.776
JN Rhodes (SA)	1992-2003		245	5935	121	35.11	2		24	354	43	20.82	0		-14.294
RP Arnold (SL)	2003-2007		180	3950	103	35.26	1		21	210	50	21.00	0		-14.267
ADR Campbell (Zim)	1992-2003		188	5185	131*	30.50	7		19	281	75	16.52	0		-13.970
A Flintoff (Eng)	1999-2007		141	3394	123	32.01	3		18	263	64	18.78	0		-13.233
A Bagai (Can)	2003-2011		59	1922	137*	38.44	2		14	304	84	25.33	0		-13.106
Shahid Afridi (Pak)	1999-2011		317	6646	124	23.73	6		17	188	37	11.75	0		-11.985
WTS Porterfield (Ire)	2007-2011		49	1483	112*	32.23	5		14	284	85	20.28	0		-11.953
AR Border (Aus)	1979-1992		273	6524	127*	30.62	3		25	452	67	18.83	0		-11.795
M Kaif (India)	2003-2003		125	2753	111*	32.01	2		11	182	68*	20.22	0		-11.789
B Zuiderent (Neth)	1996-2011		57	1097	77*	23.84	0		18	196	54	12.25	0		-11.597
Habibul Bashar (Ban)	2003-2007		111	2168	78	21.68	0		11	105	32	10.50	0		-11.180
RJ Shastri (India)	1983-1992		150	3108	109	29.04	4		14	185	57	18.50	0		-10.546
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak)	1999-2007		288	9720	141*	41.71	15		13	386	81*	32.16	0		-9.550
M Amarnath (India)	1975-1983		85	1924	102*	30.53	2		14	254	80	21.16	0		-9.373
SM Pollock (SA)	1996-2007		303	3519	130	26.45	1		31	279	52	17.43	0		-9.021

The two Ys, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan, near-permanent fixtures in Pakistan's middle order over the previous decade, also have middling World Cup records. Yousuf averaged only 32 across three tournaments, compared to an ODI average of 41. He was dropped from the squad for the 2011 World Cup. Younis didn't even have a half-century in eight innings during the campaigns of 2003 and 2007, averaging 21 and 12.33 in them. He's scored two fifties already in the 2011 tournament and his average in it after five innings - 35.25 - is greater than his career mean of 32.29.

Shahid Afridi considers himself primarily a bowler and not the batsman his fans crave him to be. His World Cup record is some evidence of that. Afridi averages 12.33 with the bat in World Cups, compared to an overall figure of 23.81, and has a high score of 37 in 16 matches. With the ball, however, he takes wickets at 18.50 - 16 of his 18 wickets have come in 2011 - compared to 34.10 over his 316-ODI career. Depending on how far Pakistan progress in this tournament, Afridi may have a shot at overtaking Glenn McGrath's record of 26 wickets in the 2007 tournament.

Largest difference in bowling average in World Cups compared to ODI career (qualification: 500 balls)

Player	Span		Mat	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5		WC	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5		Diff
CO Obuya (Kenya)	2003-2011		91	30	5/24	51.26	1		17	14	5/24	32.00	1		-19.266
M Amarnath (India)	1975-1983		85	46	3/12	42.84	0		14	16	3/12	26.93	0		-15.910
Shahid Afridi (Pak)	1999-2011		317	308	6/38	34.10	5		17	23	5/16	19.13	2		-14.973
MO Odumbe (Kenya)	1996-2003		61	39	4/38	46.33	0		19	18	4/38	31.50	0		-14.833
ALF de Mel (SL)	1983-1987		57	59	5/32	37.91	2		9	18	5/32	24.94	2		-12.970
JV Coney (NZ)	1979-1983		88	54	4/46	37.75	0		10	12	3/28	25.25	0		-12.509
Mushtaq Ahmed (Pak)	1992-1996		144	161	5/36	33.29	1		15	26	3/16	21.11	0		-12.182
BM McMillan (SA)	1992-1996		78	70	4/32	36.98	0		15	17	3/11	25.47	0		-11.515
CZ Harris (NZ)	1992-2003		250	203	5/42	37.50	1		28	32	4/7	26.90	0		-10.596
Azhar Mahmood (Pak)	1999-2007		143	123	6/18	39.13	3		12	13	3/24	28.76	0		-10.360
CA Walsh (WI)	1987-1999		205	227	5/1	30.47	1		17	27	4/25	20.25	0		-10.216
S Madan Lal (India)	1975-1983		67	73	4/20	29.27	0		11	22	4/20	19.36	0		-9.910
AJ Traicos (Zim)	1983-1992		27	19	3/35	51.94	0		20	16	3/35	42.06	0		-9.884
Z Khan (India)	2003-2011		187	264	5/42	29.07	1		19	35	4/42	19.80	0		-9.279
RMH Binny (India)	1983-1987		72	77	4/29	29.35	0		9	19	4/29	20.10	0		-9.245
JDP Oram (NZ)	2003-2011		148	154	5/26	29.68	2		20	31	4/52	20.74	0		-8.946
A Kumble (India)	1996-2007		271	337	6/12	30.89	2		18	31	4/32	22.83	0		-8.057
L Klusener (SA)	1999-2003		171	192	6/49	29.95	6		14	22	5/21	22.13	1		-7.816
GB Hogg (Aus)	2003-2007		123	156	5/32	26.84	2		21	34	4/27	19.23	0		-7.610
DN Patel (NZ)	1987-1996		75	45	3/22	50.24	0		17	13	3/36	42.76	0		-7.475

The last table contains bowlers who had poor records in World Cups compared to their overall career, and two South African legends feature in it. Shaun Pollock took 393 wickets at 24.50 each during his career but only 31 wickets at 31.29 apiece in 31 World Cup matches. Jacques Kallis, cricket's most durable allrounder, takes wickets at an average of 42.76 in World Cups compared to his career average of 31.74. In this World Cup, he has taken five wickets at 23.40 apiece so far.

Largest difference in bowling average in World Cups compared to ODI career (qualification: 500 balls)

Player	Span		Mat	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5		WC	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5		Diff
VB John (SL)	1983-1987		45	34	3/28	48.67	0		11	4	1/49	119.25	0		70.573
BA Reid (Aus)	1987-1992		61	63	5/53	34.96	1		14	9	2/38	56.88	0		21.920
SR Tendulkar (India)	1992-2011		449	154	5/32	44.26	2		41	8	2/28	64.75	0		20.483
Mudassar Nazar (Pak)	1979-1987		122	111	5/28	30.91	1		12	8	3/43	49.62	0		18.706
CH Gayle (WI)	2003-2011		226	156	5/46	35.08	1		18	9	2/23	52.77	0		17.694
PD Collingwood (Eng)	2003-2011		197	111	6/31	38.68	1		18	8	2/33	52.87	0		14.190
AY Karim (Kenya)	1996-2003		34	27	5/33	41.25	1		15	8	3/7	54.87	0		13.615
DK Lillee (Aus)	1975-1983		63	103	5/34	20.82	1		9	12	5/34	33.33	1		12.508
CRD Fernando (SL)	2003-2007		141	180	6/27	29.78	1		16	13	3/41	42.00	0		12.211
DJ Nash (NZ)	1996-1999		81	64	4/38	40.96	0		13	9	3/26	52.55	0		11.586
EJ Chatfield (NZ)	1979-1987		114	140	5/34	25.84	1		13	14	2/24	37.42	0		11.585
JH Kallis (SA)	1996-2011		312	264	5/30	31.74	2		34	21	3/26	42.76	0		11.015
WB Rankin (Ire)	2007-2011		28	35	3/32	30.17	0		14	14	3/32	40.35	0		10.185
CL Cairns (NZ)	1992-2003		215	201	5/42	32.80	1		28	18	3/19	41.94	0		9.138
GC Small (Eng)	1987-1992		53	58	4/31	33.48	0		13	11	2/29	41.63	0		8.153
Shakib Al Hasan (Ban)	2007-2011		107	135	4/33	28.83	0		14	13	2/12	36.84	0		8.009
EA Brandes (Zim)	1987-1999		59	70	5/28	32.37	2		16	16	4/21	40.06	0		7.691
DR Pringle (Eng)	1987-1992		44	44	4/42	38.11	0		11	8	3/8	45.75	0		7.636
SM Pollock (SA)	1996-2007		303	393	6/35	24.50	5		31	31	5/36	31.29	1		6.783
HH Streak (Zim)	1996-2003		189	239	5/32	29.82	1		22	22	3/35	36.54	0		6.716