Wisden overview
Andy Bichel is a late-flowering seam bowler from rural Queensland who has become a handy Test stand-in, the man Australia turn to when Jason Gillespie or Brett Lee is injured. Sharp but not express, he swings the ball away, varies his pace and gains momentum as he takes wickets, until he is sometimes irresistible. Ever-enthusiastic despite his lack of opportunity, he seized his chance in 2000-01 with 5 for 60 against West Indies at Melbourne, and went on to hone his technique in a successful county season with Worcestershire. In January 2002 he was recalled to Australia's one-day team after an absence of four years, and in his third match he routed South Africa with 5 for 19 at Sydney. He was a surprise star of the 2003 World Cup-winning side - after Gillespie was injured, Bichel stepped up to the plate with an astonishing 7 for 20 against England, then thumped some useful runs when Australia seemed sure to lose that game. In fact he bats well enough to have made a first-class century, and at Sydney in January 2003 he became arguably Test cricket's first pinch hitter, when Steve Waugh promoted him to No. 3 in a bid to whack the shine off the new ball. He is always fighting fit, and is widely admired by other players. Greg Baum

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