Fifty-three ODIs without a fifty or a three-for

Until he biffed 80 off 76 balls against Australia in the semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy, Tim Bresnan had done little of note in his international career. In 14 ODIs before that game, Bresnan's highest score was 31 not out, his average was 27.66, and he had taken only 14 wickets at 42 apiece, and never more than two in an innings. So we dug up lists of players who never scored a half-century or took three wickets in an innings during their whole, mostly short, Test and one-day international careers. We also checked on who played the most matches before making a fifty or taking a three-for.

Matt Poore, a former New Zealand batsman and offspinner, had the longest Test career without scoring a half-century or taking more than three wickets in an innings. He played 14 matches between 1953 and 1956 and his 45 on debut against South Africa in Auckland remained his highest score. He made 170 runs in five Tests in South Africa but managed only 132 runs in his next 13 innings at home and in Pakistan and India. Poore's offbreaks were used in only 11 innings and coincidentally his best innings figures - 2 for 28 - came on debut against South Africa as well.

The most recent player in the table below is Sri Lanka's Jehan Mubarak, who played the last of his 10 Tests in December 2007. Mubarak made a steady, if unspectacular, start to his career, scoring 24, 31, 48, 15 and 34 in his first five innings. The problem of his inability to convert starts worsened and soon he was unable to get going at all. He was dropped after being dismissed for single-digit scores in five successive innings against England and hasn't been recalled since.

Never scoring a 50 or taking three wickets in a career (excluding keepers) - Tests

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Bat Av	Balls	Conc	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Bowl Av
MB Poore (NZ)	1953-1956	14	24	355	45	15.43	788	367	9	2/28	4/71	40.77
LA Stricker (SA)	1910-1912	13	24	342	48	14.25	174	105	1	1/36	1/46	105.00
LSM Miller (NZ)	1953-1958	13	25	346	47	13.84	2	1	0	-	-	-
WA Shalders (SA)	1899-1907	12	23	355	42	16.13	48	6	1	1/6	1/6	6.00
JMM Commaille (SA)	1910-1928	12	22	355	47	16.90	0	0	0	-	-	-
CS Nayudu (India)	1934-1952	11	19	147	36	9.18	522	359	2	1/19	1/19	179.50
HF Wade (SA)	1935-1936	10	18	327	40*	20.43	0	0	0	-	-	-
J Mubarak (SL)	2002-2007	10	17	254	48	15.87	84	50	0	-	-	-
Gul Mohammad (India/Pak)	1946-1956	9	17	205	34	12.81	77	24	2	2/21	2/21	12.00
CT Sarwate (India)	1946-1951	9	17	208	37	13.00	658	374	3	1/16	1/16	124.66
Sanwar Hossain (Ban)	2001-2003	9	18	345	49	19.16	444	310	5	2/128	2/128	62.00
PA McAlister (Aus)	1904-1909	8	16	252	41	16.80	0	0	0	-	-	-
JM Ghorpade (India)	1953-1959	8	15	229	41	15.26	150	131	0	-	-	-
PR Carlstein (SA)	1958-1964	8	14	190	42	14.61	0	0	0	-	-	-
MRJ Veletta (Aus)	1987-1990	8	11	207	39	18.81	0	0	0	-	-	-
Akram Khan (Ban)	2000-2003	8	16	259	44	16.18	0	0	0	-	-	-
Mehrab Hossain (Ban)	2000-2003	8	16	170	23	10.62	12	5	0	-	-	-
SH Curnow (SA)	1930-1932	7	14	168	47	12.00	0	0	0	-	-	-
S Wazir Ali (India)	1932-1936	7	14	237	42	16.92	30	25	0	-	-	-
KBJ Azad (India)	1981-1983	7	12	135	24	11.25	750	373	3	2/84	2/106	124.33
DP Samaraweera (SL)	1993-1995	7	14	211	42	15.07	0	0	0	-	-	-

The last player in the table above is Dulip Samaraweera, brother of the better-known Thilan. An opening batsman, Dulip played seven Tests between 1993 and 1995, but his career never took flight. He made only 211 runs in 14 innings at an average of 15.07. His younger brother did not make the same mistakes. Thilan began his career with 103 against India at the SSC in 2001 and now averages nearly 52 after 54 Tests.

The second table is of players who took the longest (in terms of matches played) to register either a fifty or a three-wicket haul in Tests. Most of the top names are also in the table above. The succession of lesser-known players is broken by the appearance of Andrew Flintoff.

Flintoff went 11 Tests at the start of his career without a fifty or three wickets in an innings. His best with bat and ball was 42 and 2 for 31 against South Africa in Port Elizabeth in 1999, and he averaged under 15 per innings and over 58 per wicket during this period. In his 12th Test, Flintoff claimed 4 for 50 against India in Bangalore 2001, and in his 13th match, in Christchurch in 2002, he went past fifty for the first time, scoring 137 in England's 98-run win.

Most matches at start of a career without scoring a 50 or taking three wickets (excluding keepers) - Tests

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Bat Av	Balls	Conc	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Bowl Av
MB Poore (NZ)	1953-1956	14	24	355	45	15.43	788	367	9	2/28	4/71	40.77
LA Stricker (SA)	1910-1912	13	24	342	48	14.25	174	105	1	1/36	1/46	105.00
LSM Miller (NZ)	1953-1958	13	25	346	47	13.84	2	1	0	-	-	-
WA Shalders (SA)	1899-1907	12	23	355	42	16.13	48	6	1	1/6	1/6	6.00
JMM Commaille (SA)	1910-1928	12	22	355	47	16.90	0	0	0	-	-	-
CS Nayudu (India)	1934-1952	11	19	147	36	9.18	522	359	2	1/19	1/19	179.50
A Flintoff (Eng)	1998-2001	11	18	259	42	14.38	1211	524	9	2/31	3/55	58.22
HF Wade (SA)	1935-1936	10	18	327	40*	20.43	0	0	0	-	-	-
DB Vengsarkar (India)	1976-1978	10	18	350	49	20.58	5	7	0	-	-	-
CPH Ramanayake (SL)	1988-1991	10	15	100	34*	10.00	2090	1116	19	2/39	4/149	58.73
SC Williams (WI)	1994-1995	10	17	294	49	19.60	0	0	0	-	-	-
J Mubarak (SL)	2002-2007	10	17	254	48	15.87	84	50	0	-	-	-
CT Sarwate (India)	1946-1951	9	17	208	37	13.00	658	374	3	1/16	1/16	124.66
Gul Mohammad (India/Pak)	1946-1956	9	17	205	34	12.81	77	24	2	2/21	2/21	12.00
IM Chappell (Aus)	1964-1967	9	15	258	49	18.42	1223	584	6	2/91	2/107	97.33
MR Ramprakash (Eng)	1991-1992	9	15	241	29	17.21	7	8	0	-	-	-
PV Simmons (WI)	1988-1992	9	18	296	38	16.44	96	41	0	-	-	-
MS Atapattu (SL)	1990-1997	9	17	182	29	10.70	30	12	1	1/9	1/9	12.00
Sanwar Hossain (Ban)	2001-2003	9	18	345	49	19.16	444	310	5	2/128	2/128	62.00
Khaled Mahmud (Ban)	2001-2003	9	17	175	45	10.93	1032	558	5	2/42	3/70	111.60

Former Australian batsman and captain Ian Chappell also had a slow start to his successful Test career. He made only 258 runs in his first nine Tests at an average of 18.42, with a high score of 49, before caning the Indian attack for 151 in Australia's innings-and-four-run victory at the MCG in 1968.

John Bracewell, the former New Zealand allrounder and coach, hit a century and four fifties during his 43-Test career, and took four five-fors and one 10-wicket haul as well. However, he didn't score a single half-century or take more than two wickets in a match in 53 one-day internationals. He averaged 16 with the bat and his highest score was 43 against England in Christchurch. His best effort with the ball was 2 for 3 against Australia in Adelaide - he averaged 57 per wicket - in New Zealand's 206-run victory.

Never scoring a 50 or taking three wickets in a career (excluding keepers) - ODIs

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Bat Av	Balls	Conc	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Bowl Av
JG Bracewell (NZ)	1983-1990	53	43	512	43	16.51	2447	1884	33	2/3	2/3	57.09
EAE Baptiste (WI)	1983-1990	43	16	184	31	15.33	2214	1511	36	2/10	2/10	41.97
Mansoor Akhtar (Pak)	1980-1990	41	35	593	47	17.44	138	110	2	1/7	1/7	55.00
RJ Peterson (SA)	2002-2007	34	15	147	36	13.36	1252	992	17	2/26	2/26	58.35
AR White (Ire)	2006-2009	32	24	421	40	18.30	503	418	14	2/5	2/5	29.85
BJ Patel (Kenya)	2001-2006	31	25	360	44	16.36	165	163	4	2/20	2/20	40.75
Enamul Haque (Ban)	1990-2002	29	26	236	32	11.23	1238	1083	19	2/40	2/40	57.00
Naimur Rahman (Ban)	1995-2002	29	27	488	47	19.52	1094	904	10	2/51	2/51	90.40
M Mbangwa (Zim)	1996-2002	29	13	34	11	4.85	1369	1140	11	2/24	2/24	103.63
Mushfiqur Rahman (Ban)	2000-2004	28	25	360	49	16.36	1332	983	19	2/21	2/21	51.73
MG Burgess (NZ)	1973-1981	26	20	336	47	16.80	74	69	1	1/10	1/10	69.00
KBJ Azad (India)	1980-1986	25	21	269	39*	14.15	390	273	7	2/48	2/48	39.00
Mohammad Akram (Pak)	1995-2000	23	9	14	7*	7.00	989	790	19	2/28	2/28	41.57
LP van Troost (Neth)	2002-2007	23	20	284	40	15.77	246	280	4	2/29	2/29	70.00
DR Chumney (Can)	2003-2007	21	21	397	48	20.89	0	0	0	-	-	-
R Clarke (Eng)	2003-2006	20	13	144	39	11.07	469	415	11	2/28	2/28	37.72
AG Huckle (Zim)	1997-1999	19	8	9	5*	2.25	858	661	7	2/27	2/27	94.42
Saeed Ajmal (Pak)	2008-2009	19	9	36	16	12.00	973	633	21	2/16	2/16	30.14
MW Priest (NZ)	1990-1998	18	14	103	24	10.30	752	590	8	2/27	2/27	73.75
PE McEwan (NZ)	1980-1985	17	15	204	41	13.60	420	353	6	2/29	2/29	58.83
AR Kapoor (India)	1995-2000	17	6	43	19	7.16	900	612	8	2/33	2/33	76.50
CM Kuggeleijn (NZ)	1988-1989	16	11	142	40	15.77	817	604	12	2/31	2/31	50.33
RT Lyons (Scot)	2006-2009	16	10	86	28	28.66	715	644	11	2/28	2/28	58.54
DR Flynn (NZ)	2008-2009	16	13	167	35	15.18	6	6	0	-	-	-
G Dymock (Aus)	1974-1980	15	7	35	14*	11.66	806	412	15	2/21	2/21	27.46
S Venkataraghavan (India)	1974-1983	15	9	54	26*	10.80	868	542	5	2/34	2/34	108.40
SI de Saram (SL)	1999-2001	15	13	183	38	16.63	0	0	0	-	-	-
KA Pollard (WI)	2007-2009	15	13	147	42	11.30	356	336	12	2/16	2/16	28.00

One of the greatest ODI players, Sanath Jayasuriya, also had an extremely ordinary start to his career. It was only in his 29th ODI that he picked up more than two wickets in an innings for the first time - 3 for 33 against New Zealand at the Premadasa in 1992. Until then, he averaged 61.16 for his six wickets. He now averages 36.35 for his 322 scalps. With the bat Jayasuriya went without a half-century in his first 33 innings, averaging 11.12, before scoring 58 against Pakistan in October 1993. And it wasn't until his 71st ODI, against New Zealand in Bloemfontein in 1994, that he scored his first century.

Most matches at start of a career without scoring a 50 or taking three wickets (excluding keepers) - ODIs

Player	Span	Mat	Inns	Runs	HS	Bat Av	Balls	Conc	Wkts	BBI	Bowl Av
JG Bracewell (NZ)	1983-1990	53	43	512	43	16.51	2447	1884	33	2/3	57.09
RW Price (Zim)	2002-2009	44	24	139	20*	8.17	2266	1466	28	2/16	52.35
EAE Baptiste (WI)	1983-1990	43	16	184	31	15.33	2214	1511	36	2/10	41.97
Mansoor Akhtar (Pak)	1980-1990	41	35	593	47	17.44	138	110	2	1/7	55.00
S Matsikenyeri (Zim)	2002-2004	35	33	413	44	13.32	372	330	6	2/33	55.00
RJ Peterson (SA)	2002-2007	34	15	147	36	13.36	1252	992	17	2/26	58.35
AR White (Ire)	2006-2009	32	24	421	40	18.30	503	418	14	2/5	29.85
BJ Patel (Kenya)	2001-2006	31	25	360	44	16.36	165	163	4	2/20	40.75
JN Rhodes (SA)	1992-1993	30	28	600	46*	26.08	0	0	0	-	-
Enamul Haque (Ban)	1990-2002	29	26	236	32	11.23	1238	1083	19	2/40	57.00
M Mbangwa (Zim)	1996-2002	29	13	34	11	4.85	1369	1140	11	2/24	103.63
Naimur Rahman (Ban)	1995-2002	29	27	488	47	19.52	1094	904	10	2/51	90.40
Mashrafe Mortaza (Ban)	2001-2006	29	24	287	44*	15.10	1494	1229	28	2/26	43.89
ST Jayasuriya (SL)	1989-1992	28	24	226	32	9.41	395	367	6	2/39	61.16
Mushfiqur Rahman (Ban)	2000-2004	28	25	360	49	16.36	1332	983	19	2/21	51.73
Tahir Naqqash (Pak)	1980-1985	27	14	92	23*	10.22	1074	880	15	2/35	58.66
MG Burgess (NZ)	1973-1981	26	20	336	47	16.80	74	69	1	1/10	69.00
Iftikhar Anjum (Pak)	2004-2007	26	15	89	19*	44.50	1205	925	19	2/13	48.68
DT Johnston (Ire)	2006-2009	26	22	364	45*	21.41	1034	839	15	2/37	55.93