Cricket in 2018: Flop Test XI of the year

2018 was an eventful year in Test cricket. It was the year where we witnessed two new nations playing their first Test match. On the unfortunate side, the sandpaper gate sent tremors into the cricket world, and Australia faced grave consequences. India faced an away patch of South Africa, England and Australia where we saw hits and misses. While the likes of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Jasprit Bumrah and Yasir Shah rose to new heights with their spectacular performances, there were a few who failed to play at their potential. With plenty of opportunities available, these stars were expected to deliver but were always stuck in the rut. Indian cricket fans will easily recall two such names but there are plenty of other cricketers who flopped this year. Following is the list of eleven prominent cricketers who disappointed with their performances in 2018. After years of cricket, they were expected to come good in 2018 but the lot will be happy to see the year 2018 passing away. 1. Murali Vijay (India) Murali Vijay. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images) India embarked on a challenging year in Test cricket as they were up against an away phase which included South Africa, England and Australia. The Asian Giants needed to be at their best to conquer such a brutal challenge and they relied heavily on their batsmen. Murali Vijay along with Cheteshwar Pujara was supposed to be the rock on which the Indian batting would stabilize. However, the 34-year old Test specialist failed to deliver on the promises. Vijay’s struggle on the South African shores was ignored as other batsmen had to work hard for their runs as well. After a century against Afghanistan at home, Vijay looked all set to score runs in England. Instead, his contributions in the first two Tests were 6, 20, 0 and 0. The Tamil Nadu opener was dropped from the squad after this debacle. India failed to find a successful opening partnership and had to call back Murali Vijay for the Australian tour. He impressed with a century in the practice match but could not get runs in the Test matches. After 49 runs from four innings, he has been dropped again. Matches: 8, Innings: 15, Runs: 282, Average: 18.80, Highest score: 105, 100s: 1, Ducks: 3. 2. KL Rahul (India) KL Rahul. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) There were billions of hopes pinned down on this dashing batsman from Karnataka but KL Rahul failed to keep up and ended the year as a disappointment. Rahul was used extensively by India in Tests this year, but the batsman could not deliver the results expected out of him. In the 22 innings that the 26-year old played in 2018, he managed to cross the 50-run mark only twice. Rahul’s only half-century was scored against Afghanistan at home while his 149 run knock was played in the spot saving cause against England at the Oval. Rahul faced a technical problem in this period as he was bowled/LBW 13 times. While he had a stellar IPL in 2018, his Test career hit the rock bottom. Matches: 12, Innings: 22, Runs: 468, Average: 22.28, Highest score: 149, 100s: 1, Ducks: 4 3. Shai Hope (Windies) Shai Hope. (Photo by Sarah Ansell/Getty Images). Shai Hope was the leading light in Windies’ tour of England. The courageous batsman became the first to score twin Test centuries at Headingley in 2017 and encouraged the side to a historic away Test win. In 2018, the Caribbean team faced the Asian sides in Tests and Hope failed to sustain his batting form. In nine innings at home, Hope managed only one score in excess of 50 which was against Bangladesh. The 25-year-old right-hander then failed to score runs in India and Bangladesh. On the subcontinental turning tracks, his highest score was only 36. Hope later batted magnificently in limited-overs cricket but achieved little in white clothing. Matches: 9, Innings: 17, Runs: 344, Average: 20.23, Highest score: 67, 100s: 0 4. Hashim Amla (South Africa) Hashim Amla. (Photo Source: Twitter) The South African run-machine has been under a breakdown for a while. Hashim Amla has been the prolific scorer for the Proteas for a few years, but 2018 was not his year. The 35-year-old with 9,000 Test runs could not score a single Test century in 2018. Amla began the year with scores of 4,3 and 1 against India. His next three innings were all half-centuries and the runs were coming easy. The visiting Australian team halted the run and Amla managed only one fifty in the eight chances. His lean patch continued in Sri Lanka where he could not go past the score of 20 in four attempts. Matches: 9, Innings: 18, Runs: 439, Average: 24.38, Highest score: 82, 100s: 0 5. Dawid Malan (England) Dawid Malan after being dismissed by Ishant Sharma of India. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) The 31-year-old Englishman earned his Test cap last year when he made his debut against South Africa at the Oval. He was then named in the Ashes touring party for 2018. Malan began the year with a solid 62 against Australia at Sydney. The upcoming Test matches did not prove fruitful for him. In two Test matches played in New Zealand, Malan scored a half-century but did not score a lot otherwise. Against the subcontinental visitors, Malan failed to get going. In the next five knocks, he accrued only 74 runs. He was soon dropped from the side. Matches: 6, Innings: 11, Runs: 219, Average: 19.90, Highest score: 62, 100s: 0 6. Shaun Marsh (Australia) Shaun Marsh. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) The spot of the senior Marsh in the Australian Test team has been under constant scrutiny. The 35-year-old middle-order batsman is yet to establish himself firmly in the Test side and 2018 proved just that. Shaun Marsh failed to make most of the numerous opportunities he received and continues to be under threat of being replaced by a better batsman. Shaun began the year with a stunning knock of 156 at Sydney. He followed it up with the scores of 33 and 40 against South Africa in Durban. However, it all went pear-shaped for the left-hander from thereon. He registered as many as nine single-digit scores in the next 14 knocks. His sequence against Pakistan at a point read 0, 7, 4 and 3. Matches: 9, Innings: 17, Runs: 429, Average: 25.23, Highest score: 156, 100s: 1 7. Mitchell Marsh (Australia) Mitchell Marsh. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) The Western Australian all-rounder was back in the reckoning for Test selection this year with his performances in the domestic cricket. Mitchell Marsh started off his claim for a permanent spot in the Baggy Greens brilliantly with a century at Sydney and a 96 at Durban versus South Africa. After the impressive start, Mitchell faced the troughs. Six out of his next ten innings ended with a single-digit score. After his 96 versus South Africa, Marsh’s next highest score remained 45. He failed to make up his batting failures with the ball and ended up with only six wickets in seven Tests at a bowling average of 50. Matches: 7, Innings: 13, Runs: 307, Batting average: 23.61, Highest: 101, Wickets: 6, Bowling average: 50.00 8. Devendra Bishoo (Windies) Devendra Bishoo of West Indies. (Photo Source: Twitter) West Indies is not exactly known for producing exceptional spinners but Devendra Bishoo – the leg-spinner was favourite to extend the list. Since his debut in 2011, the Guyanese spinner was in and out of the team but remained in contention. With the challenge of Asian teams looming largely, Bishoo was supposed to step up for the Caribbean side. He, however, did not really relish the challenge. After capturing four wickets in the first Test against Sri Lanka, Bishoo went wicketless for the next three Test matches. He took four wickets against India at Rajkot but conceded 217 runs as well. Matches: 8, Innings: 13, Wickets: 15, Bowling average: 45.06, Best bowling innings: 4/26 9. Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh) Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) The Bangladeshi pace bowler created a niche for himself in white-ball cricket with his clever pace variations but Mustafizur has not been the same force in Test cricket. While he remained a mainstay for Bangladesh in ODIs and T20Is, he failed to impress in red-ball cricket. 2018 proved to be disappointing for the left-arm seamer. The Fizz was selected to play in four Tests and he ended his stint with just seven wickets. All four Tests were played on turning tracks and it proved to be the pain point for the 23-year-old. He began the year with a toiling spell of 113/1 against Sri Lanka. In the following Dhaka Test, Rahman picked five wickets and it remained his best performance. In the Chittagong Test versus Windies, he bowled only four overs in all. Matches: 4, Innings: 7, Wickets: 7, Bowling average: 38.71, Best bowling innings: 3/49 10. Colin de Grandhomme (New Zealand) Colin de Grandhomme of New Zealand. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images) The bulky all-rounder returned to the New Zealand Test side as a bowling all-rounder. By the end of 2018, Grandhomme has emerged out as a useful batting resource in the lower middle order but his bowling has failed to do justice to his potential. Grandhomme had a below average year with the ball in Test cricket. The 32-year-old bowled a patch of 41 wicketless overs across two home Tests. He claimed 4/94 in the second Test against England which remain his best bowling effort of the year. Grandhomme had to work hard for his wickets on the helpless tracks of UAE and had a torrid time. Even in the home Tests against Sri Lanka, the all-rounder failed to take wickets by plenty. Matches: 7, Innings: 12, Wickets: 11, Bowling average: 37.00, Best Bowling Innings: 4/94 11. Neil Wagner (New Zealand) Neil Wagner. (Photo by AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images) New Zealand is renowned for its pace bowling attack. In Trent Boult and Tim Southee, they have a pair of fast bowlers that can run through any batting line-up in the world. This year, the Blackcaps used Neil Wagner to form an effective three-pronged attack however the 32-year-old left-arm seamer failed to get them the required breakthroughs. Wagner began the year with a spell of 3/77 against England at Christchurch but could not continue the momentum. He toiled hard in the next home Test but picked up only two wickets. In UAE, Wagner bowled the back-breaking spells but returned without any rewards. He ultimately finished the year with 4/48 against Sri Lanka in the Boxing Test. Matches: 6, Innings: 10, Wickets: 14, Bowling average: 39.28, Best Bowling Innings: 4/48. Get the latest Cricket News and all the Cricket in 2018 articles, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.

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Cricket in 2018: Flop Test XI of the year

Following is the list of eleven prominent cricketers who disappointed with their performances in 2018.

5. Dawid Malan (England)

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