Cricket enjoyed one of its most memorable years in 2019 as England ended their World Cup agony on home soil while a resurgent Australia retained the Ashes urn on enemy territory.
Big names such as Steve Smith and Ben Stokes shone bright, however, there were several other unheralded players for whom 2019-20 turned out to be a breakthrough season.
With their notable performances over the course of the year, these players managed to propel themselves into the limelight usually been reserved for the superstars. When the sport does ultimately resume, they will all be itching to continue the good work they have shown recently.
Here, we look at eight of the biggest breakthrough stars over the last year or so.
Mayank Agarwal (India)
After piling on the runs for Karnataka in domestic cricket, Agarwal was finally rewarded for his perseverance with a Boxing Day Test debut against Australia at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
The opening batsman impressed with two half centuries in three innings. The best, though, was yet to come from Agarwal who had a rather disappointing tour of the West Indies subsequently.
As India finished the year with home clashes against South Africa and Bangladesh, Agarwal stepped up the class with two double tons and a century. The right-hander’s polished technique and impressive temperament saw him forge a delightful opening partnership with Rohit Sharma as India swept aside the Proteas and Bangladesh in emphatic fashion.
In 2019 alone, Agarwal amassed 754 runs at an average of nearly 69.
Nicholas Pooran (West Indies)
Pooran’s talent was clear to see when he smashed a stunning 143 against Australia in Dubai during the 2014 ICC U19 World Cup.
The left-hander looked destined to scale greater heights in senior cricket before fate took an unruly turn in the following year. A horrific car accident threatened to end the southpaw’s cricketing career and he had to undergo surgery on both of his feet as a result.
A year later, Pooran was back on the cricket pitch and it didn’t take him long to rediscover his magnificent touch. While he did show flashes of brilliance in the years to follow, it wasn’t until 2019 when Pooran finally began to stamp his authority on bowlers around the world. The southpaw is arguably the most exciting limited-overs batsman to watch and the manner in which he tore apart India’s bowling attack in last year’s ODI series was a sight to behold.
Since the turn of 2019, the Windies man has scored 932 ODI runs at an average of nearly 50.
With a smooth style and the gift of effortless timing, Pooran makes batting look easy when in full flow. Keep an eye out for him in the 2020 T20I World Cup.
Rassie van der Dussen (South Africa)
It is never too late to bloom at international level and Rassie van der Dussen proved that with what was a fine debut year for South Africa. While he did make two T20I appearances against Zimbabwe towards the end of 2018, it was only last year that van der Dussen truly came into his own.
More than a decade after he made his List A and first-class debut, the right-hander was handed his maiden ODI appearance against Pakistan in Port Elizabeth. The Proteas man wasted no time in making his mark, with a sparkling 93 on ODI debut.
With three more fifties in his next seven ODI innings, the Pretoria native was deservedly on the plane to England for the ICC World Cup. In what turned out to be a disappointing campaign for the Proteas, van der Dussen was a rare bright spark with three half-centuries which included a superb 95 against Australia at Old Trafford.
Having averaged nearly 74 in ODIs over the course of the year, the South African’s breakthrough season was rewarded with a Test debut against England. Once again, he proved to be an instant hit with three fifties in the four-match series.
Sheldon Cottrell (West Indies)
While he had been in and around the West Indies limited-overs outfits since 2013, Sheldon Cottrell never did really force the world of cricket to take notice until last year.
The tall left-armed pacer kick-started 2019 with career-best ODI figures of 5-46 against England, before going on to make further strides in the World Cup. A glorious catch on the boundary ropes was just one of the several good things Cottrell showed over the course of the tournament in England.
Athleticism in the field, handy lower-order batting and an ability to strike with the new-ball makes Cottrell the complete package as a limited-overs bowler. Sixty one wickets across all formats in 2019, at a strike-rate of just 28, meant the southpaw was mixing it up with the best pacers in the world.
His trademark ‘salute’ celebration has gained cult status among fans and he will definitely be one to keep an eye on when cricket ultimately resumes.
Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
Although he had already made his debut in all three formats for Pakistan in 2018, young Shaheen Afridi has really stepped it up a notch in the last 15 months or so.
In 24 matches across all formats, the young pace prodigy picked up a total of 54 wickets at an average of less than 25. The left-armed seamer had a disappointing start to his maiden World Cup campaign in England, but he was literally unplayable by the time Pakistan’s tournament was cut short.
In his last three World Cup matches, Afridi claimed as many as 13 wickets including a career-best 6-35 against Bangladesh at Lord’s. That as a 19-year-old, he was leading Pakistan’s pace attack in the away Test series against Australia, shows how far he has come in such a short amount of time in international cricket.
Expect bigger things to come from a pacer who has all the makings of a future Pakistan great.
Jofra Archer (England)
England had waited patiently for Archer to be eligible to play for them and the Barbados-born pacer’s maiden year in international cricket showed why.
Having impressed for Sussex and in various franchise T20 leagues in the years leading up to his England debut, big things were always expected from Archer in 2019. In the end, the fast bowler more than delivered on that front with a starring role in England’s World Cup-winning campaign.
His 20 wickets in the tournament were only bettered by the Trans-Tasman pair of Mitchell Starc and Lockie Ferguson. Archer then followed up World Cup heroics with a sensational introduction to the Ashes series against Australia. His tussle with the world’s best Test batsman Steve Smith turned out to be an exhilarating affair which ended with the Sydney man on the deck.
Don’t let a poor tour of New Zealand take away anything from a fine year which saw the 25-year-old claim 55 wickets in all three formats for England.
Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand)
The Auckland-born pacer made his Blackcaps debut all the way back in 2016, but it was his performances across 2019 that really catapulted his status. Having the likes of Trent Boult and Tim Southee ahead in the pecking order means the competition for places in New Zealand’s pace unit is always a fierce one.
With what he showed in the side’s campaign all the way to the World Cup final, Ferguson’s place in the limited-overs set-up now seems like a certainty going forward.
Twenty one wickets in just nine World Cup games were among the 35 overall ODI scalps that Ferguson claimed in 2019. His strike-rate of 25.8 across all three formats in the year was the best among all bowlers (excluding associates) who picked up at least 45 wickets.
The 28-year-old definitely has pace to burn in his locker and will be looking to do more of the same for New Zealand when cricket returns.
Marnus Labuschagne (Australia)
Among the sea of 2019’s breakout stars, none popped like Labuschagne. The Australian top-order batsman did not really uproot any trees when he made his debut against Pakistan in 2018, and the question marks over his place in the side were only growing after his continued selection.
In what has been one of the most incredible transformations in the sport, Labuschagne swatted away those doubts with an incredible 2019.
A county stint at Glamorgan last summer seems to have worked wonders for his confidence, with the right-hander subsequently taking the Ashes by storm as a concussion substitute for Steve Smith.
He finished 2019 as the leading run-scorer (1,104) in Tests with an average of nearly 65 and then started 2020 explosively by registering a double ton against New Zealand. His recent introduction to ODI cricket is going well, registering a century and two fifties in his six innings so far.
Now only behind Smith and Virat Kohli in the ICC Test rankings, Labuschagne has the technique and temperament to be a whirlwind success for Australia. If the glimpses into his persona in ‘The Test’ docuseries released recently is anything to by, Labuschagne has the hunger and drive required to become the world’s best for a long time to come.
