LISTICLE
Follow UsThe associate cricketers often get to showcase their true potential at big events like the World Cup, but the recent cutting down of teams to just ten in the 50-over World Cups has not gone down well with many. The ICC has rectified that by having 14 teams from 2027 onwards, and as far as the T20 World Cup is concerned, 20 teams will compete for top honours in the USA and West Indies next June.
That being said, we have seen the likes of Kevin O Brien (Ireland), Ryan ten Doeschate (Netherlands), Aasif Karim (Kenya), or even John Davison (Canada) take the opposition apart in World Cups. Also, most recently, Teja Nidamanuru (Netherlands) scored hundreds against Zimbabwe and West Indies, but there are a few performances that may not have caught your eye or do not remember.
On that note, we look back at some of the top individual performances by players from the associate countries blow full-members away in World Cups:
Austin Codrington (Canada) - 5 for 24 vs Bangladesh, 2003
Canada qualified for the 2003 World Cup after winning the ICC Trophy in 2001. They had not played an official One-Day International (ODI) since the 1979 World Cup. They made an immediate impact in the 2003 World Cup, stunning Bangladesh in their first match of the tournament.
Skipper Joe Harris won the toss and elected to bat in Durban, and his side managed to put up just 180 on the board with no batter getting past 25. While Bangladesh got off to a steady start, once they lost Al Sahariar for nine, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The wrecker-in-chief for Canada was their fast bowler Austin Codrington, who did well to pounce on the platform set by his teammates to clean up the tail efficiently.
Not to forget, he also got the big wickets of opening batter Hannan Sarkar and dangerous middle-order batter Alok Kapali.
He eventually finished with figures of 9-3-27-5 to help Canada win their first-ever ODI by 60 runs. Bangladesh are no strangers to an upset as they had been on the winning end in the 1999 World Cup, overcoming former champions Pakistan. However, they were on the receiving end this time around.
Codrington’s figures are still the best bowling figures for anyone making his World Cup debut and overall, the sixth-best figures for a bowler on ODI debut. Talk about instant impact!
Rudi Van Vuuren (Namibia) - 4 for 43 vs England, 2003
A doctor by profession, Namibia’s Rudi Van Vuuren has a unique distinction of playing in the Cricket World Cup in 2003 in South Africa and also the Rugby World Cup in Australia later that year. The pacer with a round-arm action, hurried a few England batters as they mistimed it straight to the fielders on either side of the wicket. However, he would go on to pick up a flurry of wickets at the death to finish with five wickets for just 43 against the Alec Stewart-led side.
Namibia’s rise over the last couple of years has been such that five other bowlers have since gone on to pick up five-wicket hauls. Van Vuuren’s figures of 5 for 43 are the seventh-best bowling figures from his country, while Ruben Trumpelmann has the distinction of being the only Namibian with multiple ODI fifers.
Maurice Odumbe (Kenya) - 4 for 38 vs Bangladesh, 2003
Maurice Odumbe played a key role in the 1996 World Cup, when his Kenyan side toppled the mighty West Indies, bowling them out for just 93 in pursuit of 167. He bowled a top spell, accounting for the wickets of Jimmy Adams and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, to eventually finish with 3 for 15 in 10 overs.
Fast forward to 2003, and it was Odumbe who was once again in the thick of things as he put in one of the best all-round performances in the tournament, this time against Bangladesh. He first scored an unbeaten 46-ball 52 to propel his side to 217, and with his off-spinners, he picked up 4 for 38 from his 10 overs to hand his side a comprehensive 32-run victory in Johannesburg.
That win was good enough for them to move into the Super Six stage, where they went on to beat Zimbabwe and qualified for the semi-final, eventually losing to India. Kenya, to date, remain the only associate nation to make it to a World Cup semi-final.
Dave Houghton (Zimbabwe) - 142 off 137 vs New Zealand, 1987
In the previous World Cup, Duncan Fletcher produced a performance of a lifetime as his unbeaten 69 and 4 for 42 produced one of the greatest upsets in World Cups.
Four years later, in India, it was wicketkeeper Dave Houghton who decided to take matters into his own hands – against New Zealand – but this time though, it wasn’t good enough as his side fell short by three runs in Hyderabad.
However, the result should not take the sheen away from a brilliant individual performance. After restricting the Jeff Crowe-led Blackcaps to 242 for 7, Houghton walked in to bat at three, after Robin Brown was dismissed for a single.
Zimbabwe were reduced to 104 for 7 in no time and the finish line looked far, far away. With nothing to lose, Houghton was on the attack and was joined by Iain Butchart, who was no mug with the bat.
He gave Houghton company and stitched a 117-run stand for the eighth wicket to give Zimbabwe a glimmer of hope. Zimbabwe pretty much folded after Houghton was dismissed for 142 off 137. The last wicket pair of Butchart and John Traicos took their side close, putting on 18, but New Zealand walked away with all the points in the end.
Paul Stirling (Ireland) - 92 off 84 vs West Indies, 2015
Ireland have in the past been tricky opponents on the big stage – just ask Pakistan and England. They continued their tendency to be a pain in the backside in the 2015 edition as well. This time, it was Paul Stirling, who played a pivotal role in helping his side to a memorable victory over the West Indies in Nelson.
West Indies put up 304 for 7 in their 50 overs, thanks to a magnificent 154-run stand between Lendl Simmons (102) and Daren Sammy (89). Ireland seemed to be up for the fight. Stirling and William Porterfield (23) set up an excellent platform putting up 71 for the first wicket and the former further took the game away from the opposition, putting up 106 for the second wicket with Ed Joyce (84).
From there, it seemed to be a cakewalk for Ireland, who attained their target with four wickets and 25 balls to spare. Ireland went on to register two more victories in the tournament - beating UAE by two wickets and Zimbabwe by five runs.
Honourable mentions:
Kyle Coetzer (Scotland) 156 off 134 vs Bangladesh, 2015
Collins Obuya (Kenya) 5 for 24 vs Sri Lanka, 2003
William Porterfield (Ireland) 107 off 131 vs Pakistan, 2015
Brandon Glover (Netherlands) 3 for 9 vs South Africa, T20 World Cup 2022
Alex Cusack (Ireland) 4 for 32 vs Zimbabwe, 2015
Ed Joyce (Ireland) 102 off 97 Zimbabwe, 2015
