For the health of any sport, the most vital point is having a powerful supply chain of young players. The mantle has to be passed on in good hands who are capable and receptive to being guided, encouraged and monitored with full responsibility. Such a transition hinges on the availability of a credible talent pool who are eager to do well from a young age.
A look at the top five players to watch out for in the future in white ball formats.
Harry Tector (Ireland) – From grassroots in Dublin to the highest level
A rising star of the Tector family from the grassroots in Dublin, Harry Tector has touched the highest standards of playing for Ireland in white ball formats.
Tector didn’t have a great debut in both the formats; during his T20I debut against Netherlands, the game was abandoned due to persistent rain while during his One Day International (ODI) debut against England in 2020, Tector couldn’t even open his account, being dismissed for a nine-ball duck.
When India toured Ireland for a short two-match T20I series this year, Tector, coming in with Ireland in a spot of bother at 22/3 during the first game, blasted a 33-ball 64 that was arranged with six boundaries and three sixes and that too against a top-class Indian bowling attack consisting of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal and others. Tector again performed well with a 28-ball 39 in the second T20I with the help of five boundaries.
Harry Tector’s career summary
| Format | Mat | Inn | Runs | Avg | SR | HS | 50 | 100 |
| ODI | 23 | 23 | 895 | 47.10 | 77.35 | 113 | 7 | 2 |
| T20I | 42 | 39 | 746 | 24.06 | 128.84 | 64* | 0 | 4 |
His purple patch continued in the three-match ODI series against the Blackcaps where he celebrated his maiden ODI century in the opening game when he notched up 113 in 117 balls with 14 boundaries and three massive sixes. He ended the series with another century as he grabbed 225 runs in the whole series at an average of 75.
Harry Tector, aged just 22, most certainly has the ingredients to do wonders in world cricket in the upcoming days.
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Tristan Stubbs (South Africa) – Father’s son, coach’s dream and a smart kid with gigantic power
A young Tristan Stubbs, back in the days, in the courtyard of his house used to knock down a few stringed balls attached at different levels with various sizes of bats, before asking his father to cut them thinner and modify them. He would challenge himself to hit them 50 in a row, 100 in a row, 150 or 200 without messing up.
“I don’t have to ask him to train. A player like that is a coach’s dream,” admits former Protea all-rounder Robin Petersen, who discovered Stubbs.
Even after earning his T20I debut cap against India, Stubbs didn’t get a chance to bat in both of his first two games. In the first T20I against England in Bristol, he stunned the world with his power and splendid ability.
In response to England’s 234, South Africa were 86/4 when Stubbs walked in to bat. His majestic innings of 72 runs off 28 balls was coloured with two boundaries and eight maximums and most of them went really long and almost out of the park. During the innings, he also celebrated the second-fastest T20I half-century in just 19 balls.
Tristan Stubbs’s T20I career summary
| Format | Mat | Inn | Runs | Avg | SR | HS | 50 | 100 |
| T20I | 6 | 4 | 119 | 39.66 | 216.36 | 72 | 1 | 0 |
| T20 | 27 | 25 | 655 | 32.75 | 166.66 | 80* | 4 | 0 |
Stubbs is a great fielder as he exhibited an excellent jumping one-handed catch at mid-on during the third T20I of the series at Southampton. Tristan Stubbs with a bright future can be successful for the Proteas in the upcoming ICC World T20 2022 scheduled to be held in Australia.
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Finn Allen (New Zealand) – Mantra of hitting the ball hard
With a mantra of watching the ball thoroughly and hitting it hard, Finn Allen from a young age has attracted the eyes of the spectators. He led the New Zealand side in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018 with 338 runs at a strike rate of 120.
Just two years later, he garnered praises from the cricket fraternity during the 2020-21 Super Smash Tournament for smacking 512 runs in 11 games with six fifties at a strike rate of 193.93 for Wellington Firebirds. Allen had the worst possible start in international cricket, as on his T20I debut he registered a golden duck but he cracked fireworks with a 29-ball 71 that was laced with ten boundaries and three sixes.
Finn Allen’s career summary
| Format | Mat | Inn | Runs | Avg | SR | HS | 50 | 100 |
| ODI | 4 | 4 | 149 | 37.25 | 104.19 | 60 | 2 | 0 |
| T20I | 13 | 13 | 334 | 25.69 | 169.54 | 101 | 1 | 1 |
In the recent T20I series against Ireland, Finn Allen deposited his maiden century in just 54 balls with the help of eight boundaries and six maximums, at a strike rate of 180.36.
With few of New Zealand’s batters approaching the end of their careers, Allen, aged just 23 at the moment, is expected to top the headlines with class batting in the upcoming days.
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Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan) – The Wonder Kid of T20 format
A young wicketkeeper batter from Afghanistan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz has shown his hard-hitting abilities around the world in various T20 leagues. He also played a major role in Afghanistan reaching the semifinals of ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2018.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s career summary
| Format | Mat | Inn | Runs | Avg | SR | HS | 50 | 100 |
| ODI | 12 | 12 | 456 | 41.45 | 87.86 | 127 | 0 | 3 |
| T20I | 25 | 25 | 648 | 25.92 | 133.05 | 87 | 4 | 0 |
Gurbaz made his international debut for Afghanistan in 2019 and ODI debut in 2021, where he notched up his maiden century against Ireland. In the Abu Dhabi T10 league, Gurbaz secured 343 runs from 13 matches at a strike rate of 214 with three fifties.
The 20-year-old playing for the Delhi Bulls in the T10 league, smashed a 14-ball 50, highlighting his talent with which he can give the ball a real, mighty thwack in white ball formats. His innings of 79 in 51 balls against West Indies in 2019 displayed why he is called a 360-degree player; he cracked shots all around the park.
Gurbaz, who has 2076 runs in 83 T20 games with 13 half-centuries and one century, was roped in by Gujarat Titans in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 and is expected to fly high in white ball games in the near future.
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Harry Brook (England) – Emerging talent in England cricket
Harry Brook, a talented lad with a unique batting style that’s more suited to white-ball cricket, has shown a lot of promise in the game from a young age.
Harry Brook’s T20 career summary
| Format | Mat | Inn | Runs | Avg | SR | HS | 50 | 100 |
| T20I | 4 | 4 | 65 | 16.25 | 120.37 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| T20 | 78 | 75 | 2073 | 35.74 | 150.10 | 102* | 8 | 1 |
Just a few months ago, Brook starred with an unbeaten 60 runs off 27 balls, as Yorkshire secured a 7-wicket victory over Worcestershire at Headingley in the T20 Blast. The shots he clubbed with an open stance and focused mindset showed how potent he is with the bat in his early days.
In last season’s Pakistan Super League (PSL), Brook featured for Lahore Qalandars and collected 264 runs at 52.8 and a massive strike rate of 171.4. He played one T20I against West Indies at the start of the year to score 10, before fighting for just 28 in 23 balls against India this summer.
Aged just 23, Brooks has a lot of cricket left in him for the upcoming years.
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