Jhye Richardson, Lockie Ferguson, Tom Banton among top 10 breakthrough players of 2020
As if Australia’s pace bowling stocks weren’t rich enough, Jhye Richardson is among a host of up-and-coming stars tipped to make it big in 2020. See who else is on the list!
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CricViz’s Ben Jones crunches the numbers to find the emerging international players who are ready to make some noise in 2020.
It’s certainly shaping up as a big year for West Indies and Pakistan.
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Ollie Pope (England)
Youngster Ollie Pope has been setting UK tongues wagging for a few years now, and is widely regarded as the most promising young English batsman since Joe Root. While his elegant strokeplay, which is reminiscent of Ian Bell, has been a key part of the hype, it’s the numbers he’s put up which have really excited. Of the 9306 men to have batted at least 50 times in a first-class match, Pope’s average of 57.93 is the 13th highest. That will come down a bit while he’s finding his feet in Test cricket, but right now Pope has it all before him.
Naseem Shah (Pakistan)
Australian audiences might remember the November Test series against Pakistan for David Warner’s triple century, and Marnus Labuschagne’s consecutive tons, but in time we might look at it as the first appearance of a fast-bowling superstar. Naseem Shah, 16, impressed many on debut at the Gabba with his strong action and excellent pace (an average of 141km/h across his first Test), but in his next series he truly announced himself. His figures of 5-31 against Sri Lanka made him the youngest fast bowler to take a five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Pakistan aren’t exactly short of talented quick bowlers but Naseem looks to be the best of the next crop.
Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand)
A disappointing, injury-curtailed Test debut in Perth took the gloss off Lockie Ferguson’s year but he has shown skills that few can match. He was as dangerous and scary as they come during the World Cup – and that’s not unusual. His average speed in all international cricket this year was 142.83km/h, the second fastest of any bowler to play 10 matches. The only man who bettered him was Mitchell Starc. This was Ferguson’s breakthrough year in white-ball cricket but expect him to stamp his authority in the Test arena in 2020.
Abid Ali (Pakistan)
Unlike many others on this list, Abid Ali is not a young man. At 32 he is comfortably the oldest player of this group and therefore is a man in a hurry. Perennially on the fringes of the Pakistan set-up in the longer formats, Abid has grasped his chance with both hands. In his first ODI innings earlier this year he carved out a superb 112 off 119 balls against Australia. And in his first Test innings this month he made an unbeaten 109 against Sri Lanka. He is the first man in history to make a century in both his ODI and Test debuts. As Australia know through men like Chris Rogers and Adam Voges, experienced players who arrive late in international cricket usually know their game well and take to it like a duck to water. Pakistan will be hoping Abid is another such case.
Jhye Richardson (Australia)
In the Sri Lanka series at the start of this year, Richardson looked devilishly effective when bowling a fuller length than many can manage in Australia and moving the ball both ways. In the past two years of Test cricket, only one Australian has swung the ball more than Richardson and that man is Mitchell Marsh, who has been a good 7km/h slower. Swinging the Kookaburra ball is not easy, and if Richardson can do so while maintaining his pace, he will be a perfect addition to Australia’s pace attack.
Rassie van der Dussen (South Africa)
‘RVD’ has had a fantastic start to his international career. His first 18 ODIs have yielded 664 runs at an average of 73.77 runs per dismissal. In fact, it’s more than vast — it’s the best in history. Nobody to play more than 18 ODIs has a better batting average. A tall, long-levered, middle-order player who specialises in smashing spin, van der Dussen is a key player South Africa can rebuild their ODI and perhaps Test sides around in the absence of Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander.
Tom Banton (England)
Australian audiences are just getting the pleasure of seeing the young Englishman tear it up for the Brisbane Heat in the BBL, but British audiences have been excited about him for some time. Opening the batting with Babar Azam for Somerset this summer and attracting eyes from all over the world, Banton has developed a reputation as a Kevin Pietersen clone. He often dances around with his back leg flung behind him, stylishly hammering both spinners and quicks at more than nine runs per over. He will have his eye on a place in England’s T20 World Cup side. If he can play a starring role for the Welsh Fire in The Hundred, he will likely propel himself further into the public imagination. Stardom awaits.
Brandon King (West Indies)
Battles are keenly fought to bat in the top order for West Indies in T20 cricket. Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis are all established in the squads but there is an interloper. King turned in a remarkable Carribean Premier League campaign that yielded 496 runs with the Guyana Amazon Warriors, for whom he scored at just under nine runs per over. Standing tall and with fast hands, he is the next Caribbean batting superstar on a never-ending conveyor belt and 2020 looks set to be his year. Another good CPL season could have him heading to the World Cup.
Hayden Walsh Jnr (West Indies)
Tthe West Indies will head to Australia in 10 months’ time to defend their World T20 title – and there’s only real one hole in their squad. The potential availability of Sunil Narine aside, the Caribbean T20 unit doesn’t have a clear first-choice spinner. But 32 wickets in a calendar year is the most for any West Indies T20 spinner except Narine and Walsh’s strike rate of 12.4 dominates Narine’s 22.7. An aggressive, attacking leg-spinner who could well suit the pitches in Australia, Walsh could be the missing piece in the puzzle for the returning champions.
Shubman Gill (India)
The next generation of Indian batsman has a hard task in following the white- and red-ball dominance of Virat Kohli and co but Gill might be the man with the greatest chance to live up to expectations. An elegant, classical middle-order player, Gill is learning his place in the Indian set-up. Given the 50-over World Cup is four years away now, and India know they need to regenerate, they may task Gill with the troublesome No.4 position. Equally, if Hanuma Vihari or Ajinkya Rahane dip below their high levels, Gill looks to be capable against the red ball as well. A first-class average of 65.95 is testament to his skill in the longest-form of the game. India love a batting superstar and this young man could well be their next.
Originally published as Jhye Richardson, Lockie Ferguson, Tom Banton among top 10 breakthrough players of 2020