There is no bigger event in the world of cricket than the World Cup. It is every cricketer's dream to turn out for their nation, and furthermore, help their team win the World title. While some players managed to leave their mark behind in the history of the sport, they failed to step foot in a World Cup game.
Here are 5 such unlucky players.
Justin Langer: One of the greatest openers to have represented Australia in international cricket, Langer played 105 Tests in his career of 14 years. He scored more than 7000 runs at an average of around 45. His partnership with Matthew Hayden was well known, and together, the duo made for a dangerous opening pair in Tests.
The Aussie’s ODI career though never picked up pace as he played only 8 games for the nation. He scored 160 runs without a single fifty. He is perhaps the only player from the glorious era of Australia cricket to have never played in the World Cup.
Matthew Hoggard: Hoggard will always be regarded as one of the top ten bowlers from England of all time. One of the best opening bowlers in his prime, Hoggard scalped 248 wickets in only 67 Tests with best figures of 12 for 205, which he claimed against South Africa. He was also the star when England won the Ashes in 2005.
He, though, was not very successful in ODIs, picking up 32 wickets in 26 games and never played a World Cup game for England.
Chris Martin: Martin is one of the best bowlers to emerge from New Zealand and is the third wicket-taker from the country in Tests. In a career of 13 years, Martin played 71 Tests to get 233 wickets with 10 five-wicket hauls.
However, his ODI career plummeted and was a huge contrast to his Test one. He played only 20 ODIs to pick up 18 wickets, and though he did replace Daryl Tuffey in the squad in 2007, he never got a game.
Alastair Cook: The player has been an iconic figure for English cricket and became the only player to cross 10000 Test runs. He also captained the side for a long period, and though he played 97 ODIs, surprisingly, he never represented England in the 50-over World Cup. He last played an ODI in 2014 and managed to score 3204 runs at an average of 36.40 with five hundreds.
VVS Laxman: The batter was one of the most prolific batters and played 134 Tests for India, scoring 8781 runs at an average of just under 46. He also has 17 centuries to his name.
He was never in the fray for an ODI berth, though, consistently. However, when he did play, he was on fire. He scored six hundreds - four of them against the Aussies at an average of 46.18 against them. However, he failed to play in a World Cup game, with Dinesh Mongia being selected ahead of him in 2003.
