It has been a decade since the 2010 ICC U19 World Cup came to its conclusion and there have been plenty of success stories to have emerged from the tournament held in New Zealand. On show in the tournament were some starlets who have developed into the biggest stars in the game. India’s KL Rahul, West Indies’ Jason Holder, Australia’s Josh Hazlewood and the England trio of Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes were just some of the big names who made a mark in the 2010 tournament. Although the success stories from a tournament won by Australia are clearly many, there are those who burned bright then only to fade away into cricketing obscurity later. Here, we look at some of the best performers from the 2010 tournament who failed to make a successful transition into senior level cricket. Dominic Hendricks (South Africa) That South Africa topped a group which also included eventual champions Australia was largely down to Dominic Hendricks’ brilliance with the bat. The opener’s 391 runs in six innings were the most by any batsman in the tournament and they came at a stunning average of nearly 98. Hendricks’ displays included an unbeaten ton against New Zealand, a fine 94 against Australia and a match-winning half-century in the fifth-place play-off against India. Despite bagging the player-of-the-tournament award, Hendricks has failed to make a single senior South Africa appearance. At 29, the left-hander has scored 7,664 first-class runs at a modest average of 37.38. The southpaw has been in good form of late though, and struck his 14th first-class ton in January this year. There have been plenty of late bloomers in cricket including South Africa’s very own Rassie van der Dussen. Hence, there is still time yet for Hendricks to salvage a potential Proteas debut in the future. Raymond Haoda (Papua New Guinea) In a tournament that featured promising bowlers, Papua New Guinea’s Raymond Haoda turned out to be the surprise package. The tall fast bowler finished as the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup, with 15 scalps in six outings. Haoda’s impressive campaign included a five-wicket haul against Hong Kong and he even showed class against the bigger teams in the tournament. A two-wicket haul against Pakistan and three wickets against the West Indies showed he could mix it up among the best players at junior level. While Papua New Guinea have made history recently by qualifying for the 2020 T20I World Cup in Australia, Haoda is sadly no longer in the picture. He made his senior debut in 2011 and made a total of eight List A appearances before completely disappearing from the radar. His last appearance came in 2014 against Hong Kong in a match where he finished with figures of 2-69. Chathura Peiris (Sri Lanka) Chathura Peiris seemed destined for greater things after dominating at youth level. The all-rounder was a part of the Sri Lanka squad in the 2008 U19 World Cup as well before being handed the responsibility of leading the outfit two years later in New Zealand. A left-armed fast bowler and a handy lower-order batsman, Peiris led from the front with his performances as Sri Lanka made a run to the semi-final. His tally 13 wickets at an average of just 13.30 was only bettered by Haoda in the tournament. A first-class and List A debut followed for Peiris shortly after the World Cup, but it is safe to say that he has been unable to make a successful jump to senior cricket. In the 10 years since, he has made just 51 first-class appearances in which he has claimed 78 wickets at an average of nearly 40. While he has enjoyed better success in List A and T20 formats, the all-rounder looks a long way off from making a senior Sri Lanka debut at this stage. He remains active as a player though, and even played club cricket in England last summer. Tim Armstrong (Australia) Among the several players to impress for champions Australia in the tournament was all-rounder Tim Armstrong. The New South Wales youngster top-scored for the Aussie with 240 runs which came at a decent average of 48. Armstrong even managed to bag a rookie contract with New South Wales after the World Cup, although he was able to earn just a solitary T20 cap in the KFC T20 Bash. The all-rounder eventually moved to Western Australia to improve his fortunes and managed to make a couple of List A appearances for the Perth-based side. He made a handful of appearances for Sydney Thunder and Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League, but was unable to make a big impression. With not a single first-class appearance under his belt and just two List A caps so far, Armstrong’s career hasn’t really gone according to plan. Until last year, the Aussie was living in London where he worked for a media investor platform while also playing in the Middlesex Premier League. He has now returned to Australia and was recently in action in grade-cricket circuit in Sydney. Azeem Ghumman (Pakistan) In a star-studded Pakistan unit which also included Babar Azam and Ahmed Shehzad, Azeem Ghumman was handed the important responsibilities of captaincy. Given the fact that the right-handed batsman had already made 19 first-class appearances before the U19 World Cup made that decision a no-brainer. Ghumman played his part for Pakistan in the tournament, leading them all the way to the final. His battling 41 in the title summit clash against Australia went in vain, but the Pakistan skipper did manage to win plenty of admirers. He was subsequently chosen to lead Pakistan A in their tour of Sri Lanka in the same year and looked to be inching closer to a senior team debut. However, his career has stagnated ever since at domestic level and a Pakistan call-up remains an unfulfilled dream. While he has made 95 first-class appearances and registered 10 tons, Ghumman’s performances have been on the wane. In fact, his highest first-class score of 199 was attained before the 2010 World Cup. First-class and List A averages of 30.06 and 25.43 respectively mean that the batsman is some way off from catching the eyes of the Pakistan selectors. Nathan Buck (England) While England’s squad for the tournament included several future greats, they endured a dismal campaign which yielded a lowly eighth-place finish. Despite their tournament woes, pacer Nathan Buck still managed to catch the eye with 13 wickets in six outings. Buck was a highly-rated teenager before the tournament even began and had already made his first-class debut for Leicestershire before the World Cup. A pacer who could clock 75mph as a 15-year-old, Buck had trained with the England A squad by the time he was 17. Post the World Cup, the fast bowler was picked in the England Lions squad which toured West Indies and managed to produce some eye-catching displays. It is suffice to say though that Buck’s career subsequently has not lived up to the initial hype. After failed stints at Leicestershire and Lancashire, the 29-year-old is now plying his trade with Northamptonshire. He has a respectable first-class wickets tally of 350, but the average of 34.10 is not a flattering one. He seems to have had better success in the T20 format where he has clinched 61 wickets at an average of 25.54. Buck’s story is testament to the notion that success at U19 level is no guarantee for a seamless step-up to senior cricket. In contrast, his team-mate Jos Buttler had a poor World Cup campaign and averaged a disappointing 26 only. However, he has since gone on to develop into one of the leading players in international cricket.
from Sport360 - Latest Sports News https://sport360.com/article/cricket/international-cricket/343463/2010-icc-u19-world-cup-azeem-ghumman-and-other-starlets-who-faded-away-after-bright-start
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