Curtis Campher

His early cricket came through the South African youth pathway. He played for Gauteng at under-13, under-15 and under-17 level and had progressed to South Africa's under-19 side by 2018. His switch to Ireland came about almost by accident: he met Niall O'Brien during a warm-up match connected to the 2019 World Cup Qualifiers. Campher already held an Irish passport through his grandmother, and after talking with O'Brien, and wanting the chance to bat further up the order, he chose at 19 to play for Ireland.

Following a couple of tours with the Ireland Wolves, he moved quickly into the senior squad. During the pandemic he was one of 21 players chosen to travel to England for training behind closed doors, and he made his ODI debut in the series that followed in July 2020. Ireland lost that match by 6 wickets, but Campher finished as their leading run-scorer with 59 not out.

His T20I debut arrived against Zimbabwe in August 2021. Three months on, at the 2021 T20 World Cup, he claimed a hat-trick against the Netherlands, the first by an Irish player in T20Is. He also took four wickets in four balls, joining Lasith Malinga and Rashid Khan as only the third player to do so.

Used in the top six and as a hard-working seamer, Campher went on to make his Test debut in an away series against Bangladesh. When Ireland moved on to Sri Lanka, he struck his first Test century, a determined 111 in the first innings of the 2nd Test at Galle.