Wisden overview
A nimble, Chaplinesque right-hander, Ramnaresh Sarwan was brought up in the South American rainforest around the Essequibo River. After his first Test innings, 84 not out against Pakistan, Ted Dexter was moved to predict a Test average of more than 50 – an unfair millstone to hang around any young player's neck. But on his first tour, to England in 2000, Sarwan lived up to the hype by topping the averages. His footwork, which seemed to require no early trigger movements, was strikingly confident and precise. It was a surprise when he then produced a horror run of three runs in five innings in Australia, but against India in 2001-02 he was back to his composed best. Sarwan required 28 matches and 49 innings to post his maiden Test century, 119 in December 2002 - and even then it came against the less-than-mighty Bangladesh. But, as the likes of Graham Gooch and Steve Waugh can testify, the first time is often the hardest. Simon Briggs

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