Waqar and Yousuf's World Cup wash-outs

There have been players with average one-day records who've won World Cups and then there have been those with buckets of runs and wickets who've never played even in a World Cup semi-final, let alone win the trophy. This week's List looks at leading run-scorers and wicket-takers to never have made it to the final four in a World Cup.

Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf heads the list of highest run-scorers with no semi-final appearances with 7908 runs. A year after his one-day debut against Zimbabwe in March 1998, Yousuf was part of the strong Pakistan side that qualified for the World Cup final at Lord's. However after an aggressive 29 against Australia during the league phase, Yousuf picked up a hamstring injury that forced him to miss six of Pakistan's next seven games, including the semis and the final. Since then Pakistan haven't had a whiff of a semi-final.

Carl Hooper played 227 ODIs over 16 years but he was never part of a West Indies team that made it past the group stage in a World Cup. He wasn't part of the team in 1996, when West Indies lost to Australia in the semi-final at Mohali and abruptly announced his retirement a month before the 1999 World Cup was about to begin. He came out of retirement in 2001 and was appointed captain for the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. He had a dismal tournament, scoring only 99 runs, as West Indies were eliminated during the first round.

Most ODI career runs and never playing in a World Cup semi or final

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100
Mohammad Yousuf (Asia/Pak)	1998-2007	236	223	32	7908	141*	41.40	12
A Flower (Zim)	1992-2003	213	208	16	6786	145	35.34	4
GW Flower (Zim)	1992-2004	219	212	18	6536	142*	33.69	6
CH Gayle (ICC/WI)	1999-2007	168	165	9	5924	153*	37.97	15
CL Hooper (WI)	1987-2003	227	206	43	5761	113*	35.34	7
ADR Campbell (Zim)	1992-2003	188	184	14	5185	131*	30.50	7
ME Trescothick (Eng)	2000-2006	123	122	6	4335	137	37.37	12
RR Sarwan (WI)	2000-2007	124	116	24	4099	115*	44.55	3
Younis Khan (Pak)	2000-2007	151	146	18	3988	144	31.15	2
PV Simmons (WI)	1987-1999	143	138	11	3675	122	28.93	5
NV Knight (Eng)	1996-2003	100	100	10	3637	125*	40.41	5
Shoaib Malik (Pak)	1999-2007	137	121	16	3524	143	33.56	5
DB Vengsarkar (India)	1976-1991	129	120	19	3508	105	34.73	1
HH Dippenaar (Afr/SA)	1999-2006	104	92	14	3344	125*	42.87	4
A Flintoff (Eng/ICC)	1999-2007	123	110	14	3076	123	32.04	3
PD Collingwood (Eng)	2001-2007	121	110	25	2966	120*	34.89	4
HH Streak (Afr/Zim)	1993-2005	189	159	55	2943	79*	28.29	0

You'd expect a few English batsmen to appear in the table above given that they haven't played a semi-final since 1992. However, only Marcus Trescothick, who made his debut in 2000, appears in the top ten with 4335 runs. It is an indication that very few English batsmen have had an impact in one-day cricket over the last 15 years.

Waqar Younis, the third highest wicket-taker in one-dayers and veteran of 262 matches, also never played a semi-final. A back injury kept him out of the 1992 World Cup, which Pakistan went on to win. He was among the top wicket-takers in 1996 but Pakistan crashed out in the quarter-finals. Waqar was chosen only for one game, against Bangladesh, in the 1999 edition with Shoaib Akhtar being the preferred choice for the other games.

Most ODI career wickets and never playing in a World Cup semi or final

Player	Span	Mat	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	Ave	5
Waqar Younis (Pak)	1989-2003	262	12698	9919	416	7/36	23.84	13
AB Agarkar (India)	1998-2007	183	9070	7606	276	6/42	27.55	2
HH Streak (Afr/Zim)	1993-2005	189	9468	7129	239	5/32	29.82	1
D Gough (Eng/ICC)	1994-2006	159	8470	6209	235	5/44	26.42	2
CL Hooper (WI)	1987-2003	227	9573	6958	193	4/34	36.05	0
UDU Chandana (SL)	1994-2005	146	6100	4790	151	5/61	31.72	1
JN Gillespie (Aus)	1996-2005	97	5144	3611	142	5/22	25.42	3
EJ Chatfield (NZ)	1979-1989	114	6065	3618	140	5/34	25.84	1
CH Gayle (ICC/WI)	1999-2007	168	5885	4559	139	5/46	32.79	1
A Flintoff (Eng/ICC)	1999-2007	123	4813	3521	136	4/14	25.88	0
M Dillon (WI)	1997-2005	108	5480	4218	130	5/29	32.44	3
Mohammad Rafique (Ban)	1995-2007	121	6174	4506	116	5/47	38.84	1
Mohammad Sami (Pak)	2001-2007	81	3998	3281	115	5/10	28.53	1
IK Pathan (India)	2004-2007	73	3555	2980	115	5/27	25.91	1
MC Snedden (NZ)	1980-1990	93	4525	3237	114	4/34	28.39	0

Given that Australia have been finalists in the last three World Cups, it's pretty surprising that Jason Gillespie hasn't played a semi-final or a final. In fact, Gillespie has played only four World Cup matches during his 97-match career. He was injured for the 1999 tournament and then had to be replaced in the 2003 squad because he strained a tendon in his right foot after playing just four games.