The batting breakthroughs that weren't

After Marcus Stoinis was not given a yearly contract by Cricket Australia, I instantly thought of the time when he scored a scarcely believable 146 not out from a total of 280 at Eden Park.

It was an innings that announced a cricketer on the international stage. More often than not, experts talk about that one innings that proves to the cricketer himself more than anybody else that he belongs on that stage. It’s the mental block that players overcome and start experiencing international cricket in a different light.

David Warner had his breakthrough innings in 2009. It took Rohit Sharma six years in international cricket to have his breakthrough innings. Often batsmen are earmarked from a young age to make it big. But sometimes these breakthroughs are false hope, nothing but a shining light in otherwise unfulfilled career.

Here are some of the innings that proved to be anything but breakthroughs.

1. Robert Key – 221 against the West Indies, 2004
After first making it to the team as a replacement for Marcus Trescothick, Key failed to make an impression against India in 2002, but nonetheless retained his position for Ashes down under later in the year. On the back of some terrific performances in county cricket, Key once again made it into the team and scored a double hundred in his first innings back at Lord’s. After a match-winning 93 not out later in the series, Key made it to the Wisden cricketers of the year list. Things were to unravel soon as Key would not score another century in his career with his 221 being the only century in his 15-Test career.

2. Richard Levi – 117 not out against New Zealand, 2012
Another cricketer who had his issues with weight, Levi made the world take notice of his talents when he scored a whirlwind 117 not out in chase of 174, setting the record for the fastest ton in T20s and number of sixes. South Africa would have hoped that they had found a successor to Graeme Smith in the shortest format but those hopes would be extinguished by the end of the year. He would go on to play a total of 13 T20s for South Africa, bagging eight single-digit scores and crossing 50 just once. His initial burst with the Proteas also earned him a healthy $400,000 contract with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL to partner Sachin Tendulkar at the top. He couldn’t get going there as well and has been playing domestic cricket in England ever since.

3. Karun Nair – 303 not out against England, 2016
How many people have made a Test triple century? Only 27. How many were dropped in the next match after scoring triple century? One: Karun Nair.

(AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

Nair made his debut after an injury to Ajinkya Rahane in 2016 and hit a triple in his third innings in Test cricket. What a breakthrough! But he was dropped in the next match and would play just three more matches. Hanuma Vihari, another talented young batsman, was given a debut during India’s historic series win in Australia 2018 and has established himself in the middle order. Meanwhile, Nair lost his touch and is looking for another breakthrough to propel himself into national reckoning.

4. Hamish Rutherford – 171 against England, 2013
Son of former Kiwi skipper Ken Rutherford, Hamish could not have hoped for a better start to his Test career, an aggressive 171 against an English attack including James Anderson and Stuart Broad. He played 15 more matches over the course of the next two years but didn’t score another century. That 171 became a shining light in an otherwise dismal international career. Having shown form in domestic cricket in New Zealand, Rutherford – now aged above 30 – would hope another shot at an opening slot given the indifferent form of Jeet Raval.

5. Brad Hodge – 203 not out against South Africa, 2005
My favourite player of the lot and probably the unluckiest player of all time, Hodge in another era would have scored at least 20,000 international runs. His maiden double century didn’t result in a win and he was dropped after playing just five Test matches. He was also part of the squad that won the 2007 World Cup but faced competition from Andrew Symonds in the starting XI. His one-day career ended the same year after a poor away series against India. He played just one more Test match in 2008 and retired with an average of above 55. Although he made a comeback to the T20 squad in 2014 after his exploits in the finishing role, he was again left out after the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. His career will always remain a question of what could have been instead of what was.