Owais Shah

His cricket began at the Wycombe House club, where his weight of runs broke several records. Middlesex handed him a first-class debut in 1996, when he was 17, and his 1997 season won him the Denis Compton award for the most promising young player. He also captained an England Under-19 side on a winning tour of South Africa. Two lean seasons followed, and by 2000 he was no longer a county regular. He recovered in 2001 with an average above 40, earning an England call for that year's NatWest series against Australia and Pakistan, where he made 62 against Pakistan. A poor run cost him the Middlesex vice-captaincy in 2004, but in 2005 he amassed 1728 runs at 66.46.

Shah's Test debut came against India in Mumbai in March 2006, and his determined 88 on a testing surface helped England to a 212-run win. In September 2007 he reached his first ODI hundred, 107 from 95 deliveries against India at the Oval in the fifth match, though India still won by two wickets. At the Champions Trophy in September 2009 he struck 98 off 89 balls against South Africa to help secure an England victory. A disappointing ODI series against Australia that year led to his omission, and in 2010 Middlesex chose not to renew his contract.

Shah has since become a sought-after Twenty20 player. Delhi Daredevils signed him for USD 275000 at the auction for the second IPL, Kochi Tuskers paid USD 200000 for him in the fourth edition, and he turned out for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 5 after Kochi were removed from the competition. On the advice of Stephen Fleming, a former Middlesex teammate and New Zealand captain, he joined Wellington Firebirds for their domestic T20 tournament. He has played for Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League since 2011 and for the Cape Cobras since 2010, and has been contracted to Essex.