Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting, who formed the golden triumvirate of batting for a generation, are also the top three run-getters at the World Cup. However, only the Indian and the Australian knew how it felt to be a world champion. The West Indian wasn’t as fortunate.
The genius from Trinidad was never part of a side that mounted a serious challenge for the crown. The nearest he came was when the Caribbeans reached the semifinals in 1996, before suffering a heart-breaking five-run loss to Australia at Mohali.
Both his World Cup hundreds were, however, quite stunning: they helped West Indies shock South Africa, in the 1996 quarterfinal and 2003 opener. Lara scored 1225 runs (average: 42.24) during his World Cup stint from 1992 to 2007.
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Unlike Lara, Jacques Kallis was part of some great South African teams which, however, turned out to be big chokers. He was incredibly consistent, as a top-order batsman, fast-bowler and slip-catcher. Kallis is fifth on the list of run-scorers, with 1148 runs at 45.92, He first took guard in the World Cup in 1996 and played till the 2011 edition. He figured in two semifinals, both against Australia (1999 and 2007) and both ending in losses.
Ian Botham, a flamboyant all-rounder and England’s greatest Ashes hero, played in two finals (1979 & '92) and a semifinal ('83). His World Cup dreams were ended by a beauty from an inspired Wasim Akram in the '92 final, but he had the not-so-small consolation of sending Australia out of the competition in its own backyard, with a splendid performance of 53 and four for 31. From three World Cups (1979, '83 & '92), he scored 297 runs (at 18.56) and took 30 wickets (25.40).
Waqar Younis, one of the most feared fast bowlers in history, was distinctly unlucky not to have been part of Pakistan’s World Cup-winning team of 1992 owing to injury. He played only 13 World Cup matches, from 1996 to 2003, and picked up 22 wickets at 21.18.
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The list of unlucky men also includes Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee, Richard Hadlee, Anil Kumble, Allan Donald, Shaun Pollock and Courtney Walsh.