ODI World Cup 2023: Flop XI of second week

After two weeks of the World Cup 2023, New Zealand and India are reaping the benefits of playing quality cricket. Both teams are now sitting at the top of the points table and now they are looking to continue their top form so that they qualify for the knockouts without any hassle. On one side, the players from these two teams are having a great time in the competition while on the other side, some players didn’t meet the expectations of their teams. After the second week, it’s time to know the players who didn’t justify their roles and made it to the list of underwhelming performers. Noting their sub-par performances, let’s have a look at the non-performing XI of the tournament’s second week. (Till AFG vs NZ match) Here is the flop XI of the second week 1. Temba Bavuma South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma has failed to produce anything special from his bat. In three games, he has scored only 59 runs at an average of 19.66. His colleagues Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram are looking incredible with their bats while his batting numbers are consistently poor. Against Australia, South Africa were put to bat first after losing the toss and his responsibility was to provide a fine start to his team, along with his opening partner De Kock. The left-handed opener notched up a match-winning century in the contest while Bavuma fell to Glenn Maxwell after scoring a lethargic 35 off 55. The Protea captain’s flop show continued against the Netherlands as well. Chasing a challenging total of 246 in 43 overs, he looked completely nervous and gave his wicket to Roelof van der Merwe after scoring 16 runs off 31 deliveries. In the upcoming matches, Bavuma will have to showcase his batting mettle to lead his team confidently in this tournament. 2. David Warner The Australia opener David Warner is playing his last World Cup and the Aussie team management is expecting him to express himself against bowlers. However, his batting numbers weren’t good until the game against Pakistan at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Prior to the match against Pakistan, the southpaw had scored only 65 runs in three games at an economy of 21.66. In their second game in Lucknow, the Aussies were following a huge total of 312 and Warner’s role became more crucial after Mitchell Marsh’s early departure on seven runs. However, following Marsh, the veteran also went back to the pavilion after scoring 13 off 27. The five-time champions won their first World Cup 2023 game against Sri Lanka in Lucknow but Warner again failed to be at his best. This time, he gave his wicket to Dilshan Madushanka on 11 off six balls. 3. Steven Smith Steven Smith is struggling to be among the runs in this tournament. The star Aussie batter has scored only 72 runs in four matches at an economy of 18.00. Noting his stature, Australia cricket team supporters will want him to get his form back and play some match-winning knocks. After putting up a decent show with the bat against India, the 34-year-old was looking in good touch against South Africa while chasing 312. Standing at the crease, he hit four boundaries but in the 10th over, the pacer Kagiso Rabada dismissed him through leg-by-wicket and shook Australia’s chase. Australia clinched their maiden victory in this competition against Sri Lanka, chasing down 210 runs successfully in 35.2 overs. However, their key batters Warner and Smith threw their wickets cheaply and put the team in danger. Smith walked back to the dugout with a five-ball duck, giving his prized wicket to Dilshan Madushanka. 4. Hashmatullah Shahidi Hashmatullah Shahidi, the Afghanistan skipper, will have to perform efficiently to help his team leave an impact in this tournament. Batting in the middle order, he has failed to reinforce his side consistently. Against India, he played a fine 80-run knock of 88 deliveries but following that innings, he didn’t score big runs in the important games against England and New Zealand. The Afghan side won its first World Cup game in eight years, beating England by 69 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Rahmanullah Gurbaz looked spectacular in this game, playing a rapid 80-run knock off 57 balls. On the other hand, Shahidi failed to be responsible with his bat, scoring only 14 off 36. Against New Zealand, Afghanistan didn’t get success in chasing 289 runs in Chennai. The early fall of the openers Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran happened in the match and with their departure, eyes were set on Shahidi but the captain also joined his junior colleagues at the dugout after scoring only eight runs in 29 deliveries. 5. Jos Buttler (c) & (wk) Jos Buttler has struggled as batter and skipper in this tournament. With the bat, he has scored 72 runs in three matches at an average of 24.00. As a captain, he hasn’t led the side confidently. Under his captaincy, England were handed a humiliating 69-run loss by Afghanistan in Delhi. Despite having match-winners such as Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, and Mark Wood, the English side was unsuccessful under Buttler in winning the Afghan challenge. In this contest, their batters looked completely out of rhythm against the Afghan spin-bowling unit. Except for Harry Brook, no other player from the batting line-up stood tall against the bowlers. Buttler, who came to bat at number five, also got outclassed by Naveen-ul-Haq. The wicketkeeper-batter chipped in only nine runs off 18 balls. In the upcoming matches, the veteran will look to compensate the team with his solid batting performances. 6. Iftikhar Ahmed Iftikhar Ahmed is one of the integral members of the Pakistan cricket team due to his batting skills. However, his performance has been disastrous in this World Cup, thus far. Playing four matches, the Peshawar-born batter hasn’t produced anything great from his bat. In the high-octane contest against India, Iftikhar had a chance to dominate bowlers and become a man of big occasions. The 33-year-old walked out into the middle when his team was four down at a score of 162 in 32.2 overs. Noting Iftikhar’s amazing batting numbers against spin, Pakistan fans had expected Iftikhar to display his batting mettle against the formidable spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. However, like the Asia Cup 2023, Kuldeep won the battle against Iftikhar in Ahmedabad as well. The spin wizard bowled a googly outside leg that Iftikhar attempted to play a shot but eventually, the ball hit the batter’s gloves and went on to knock down the bails. In the massive clash, he scored only four runs and emerged as a failure. 7. Sam Curran Sam Curran has played a lot of cricket in India and his Indian Premier League (IPL) experience corroborates this fact. Considering his familiarity with Indian conditions, England cricket team supporters were expecting him to perform incredibly in this tournament but so far, he hasn’t been effective with both bat and ball. In three matches, Curran has leaked runs at a terrible economy of 8.07. Against Afghanistan, he looked horrendous with the ball, giving away 46 runs in his four-over spell. Gurbaz completely dominated the paceman in the contest, scoring 18 runs in six balls with two fours and a maximum. After failing with the ball, the 25-year-old struggled with his bat as well. After the fall of quick five wickets, Curran’s responsibility was to support Harry Brook to take his team close to the target of 285 but he also failed to handle pressure in the crunch situation. The left-handed batter lost his wicket to Mohammad Nabi, scoring 10 runs from 23 balls. 8. Chris Woakes Chris Woakes is one of the most experienced players in England’s 2023 World Cup squad. As a fast-bowling spearhead, the pacer is required to provide breakthroughs to the team when required the most. However, he hasn’t looked comfortable on Indian wickets so far. In three outings, the speedster has got only two wickets in three matches at an economy of 7.50. On Delhi’s flat track, the Afghan batters plundered 41 runs in his four-over spell. Witnessing the veteran’s miserable bowling, skipper Buttler didn’t give him a chance to finish his 10 overs. The 34-year-old possesses the potential to upset bowlers with his batting excellence. Against the Afghan team, he had the opportunity to stand at the crease and provide support to Harry Brook, who was looking impressive with his bat. However, Mujeeb Ur Rahman got the better of him and winded up his innings on nine runs off 26 balls. 9. Maheesh Theekshana Sri Lanka have failed to take advantage of familiar sub-continent conditions in this World Cup. Losing their first three matches in the tournament, they have found themselves on a backfoot. In the upcoming games, they will rely on their key players to fare well and make a comeback. Maheesh Theekshana, who is leading Sri Lanka’s spin-bowling attack, hasn’t performed upto expectations. Against Australia, Sri Lanka were defending 210 runs and Dilshan Madushanka provided early breakthroughs to the team. Following the superb start, Theekshana should’ve stepped up with the ball. Unlike Madushanka, Theekshana splurged 49 runs in his seven overs and didn’t get any scalp. Sri Lanka are in a perilous situation in this tournament and they need to win their upcoming matches to advance to the knockout round. The 1996 champions will want Theekshana to regain his form in the contests coming ahead to do well. 10. Taskin Ahmed Bangladesh started well in the tournament with their convincing six-wicket win against Afghanistan in Dharamshala. Following that win, they are struggling to be among the victories. In the second week, they lost to New Zealand by eight wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Batting first, the Bangla side posted 245 runs on the board in their 50 overs. Defending the moderate total against the quality side, Bangladesh wanted sensational efforts from their crucial bowlers Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed, and Shakib Al Hasan. Mustafizur and Shakib looked decent while Taskin was ineffective in the game. The pacer didn’t get any wickets in his eight-over spell and leaked 56 runs. Noting Taskin’s unimpressive bowling show, Bangladesh didn’t include him in their playing XI against India in Pune. 11. Haris Rauf Pakistan’s victory campaign derailed after their humiliating seven-wicket defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals India at the Narendra Modi Stadium. In this game, their unprecedented batting collapse restricted them to 191 runs in 42.5 overs. The Men in Green failed to defend the low score as Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer came heavily on the bowlers. Haris Rauf, the mainstay Pakistan speedster, struggled against Rohit. The pace sensation bowled 11 deliveries to the India skipper and got hit for 25 runs with three maximums. In his six-over spell, he splurged 43 runs at a horrendous economy of 7.17. There weren’t enough runs on the board to defend for the bowlers but Rauf enjoys the image of being a paceman, who is known for providing breakthroughs in difficult conditions. However, he went back wicketless in this high-octane game and received a lot of criticism for his flop show.

Topics

Featured Section

Current Series

IPL 2025 Auction

IPL Teams

Cricket Fantasy Tips

Cricket Stats

ICC Rankings

Interviews

Twitter Reactions

Cricket Appeal

Social Tracker

More Links

# Follow Us

Other Sports

ODI World Cup 2023: Flop XI of second week

Let’s have a look at the non-performing XI of the marquee tournament’s second week.

8. Chris Woakes

Latest Articles

KSCA emergency meet accepts secretary-treasurer resignations

Chinmay Sutar steers Royals to glory in T20 Mumbai League

Ecclestone steps away from county cricket to focus on health