Wisden overview
A cocky, bare-knuckle batsman, Usman Afzaal caught the eye in June 2000 with a vicious 151 against Worcestershire, specifically Glenn McGrath. A year later, in the middle of an England finger crisis, he found himself in the team for the first Ashes Test. He failed twice, but regained his place at Headingley, hit an emotional fifty at The Oval, and was chosen for England's tour to India, where he carried the drinks with pride and good humour. Well organised and at his best against pace, he straight-drives like an angel, even if the rest of his game wouldn't gain many points for artistic merit. He dreams of being an allrounder, but at the moment his left-arm spin acts mostly as a partnership-breaker. His talents don't extend to the field where he most resembles a bear at an aerobics class. A devout Muslim, he has a strong affinity with Pakistan, and in October 2000 led a group of Nottinghamshire teenagers on tour to Lahore. Tanya Aldred

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