Dimitri Mascarenhas | England

Full name Adrian Dimitri Mascarenhas

Born October 30, 1977, Chiswick, Middlesex

Current age 31 years 220 days

Major teams England, England Lions, Hampshire, Otago, Rajasthan Royals

Nickname Dimi

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium

Height 6 ft 1 in

Education Trinity College, Perth

Profile With a name like Dimitri Mascarenhas, and an Aussie twang thrown into the mix, 'Dimi' was never going to be your run-of-the-mill county pro. And so it has proved. Born in Middlesex to Sri Lankan parents, but brought up in Perth, Western Australia, Mascarenhas returned to these shores in 1996 to play for Hampshire, making an immediate impact whilst taking 6 for 88 against Glamorgan on debut. At his most effective in one-day cricket, he has made a habit of producing big performances in vital games, including a Man of the Match performance in the 1998 NatWest trophy semi-final when he took 3 for 28 and scored 73. He also featured in Hampshire's victorious C&G campaign in 2005. He scored the first century at the Rose Bowl, against Worcestershire in 2001, and also took the first hat-trick recorded in Twenty20 cricket, amongst his 5 for 14 against Sussex at Hove in 2004. A regular in England's Hong Kong sixes team, it is his allround pedigree - he is an excellent fielder - which has made him so effective in domestic one-day cricket. After being awarded a benefit year by his club in 2007, he was given his chance to shine for England when called up to their one-day squad in June. It was a long overdue selection as Hampshire supporters will attest to, but Mascarenhas made his chance count, slapping five sixes in a single over from Yuvraj Singh at The Oval, and earning a call-up to England's Twenty20 squad on the back of some disciplined bowling performances. His growing reputation in the shorter forms of the game saw him as the first England player to join the Indian Premier League.

Read More

Robert Key | England

Full name Robert William Trevor Key

Born May 12, 1979, East Dulwich, London

Current age 30 years 26 days

Major teams England, Kent, Marylebone Cricket Club

Nickname Keysy

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak

Height 6 ft 1 in

Education Langley Park Boys' School

Profile Cherry-cheeked Kent batsman Robert Key had been marked down for great things - not least by headline-writers spotting an easy pun a mile off - since he helped England win the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa early in 1998. His trademark shot is a back-foot biff through the covers, while his off-drive on the front foot pleases the purists too. For a while his waistline expanded along with his burgeoning batting reputation, and he was 16 stone and counting before Alec Stewart had a quiet word. Over 1000 runs for Kent in 2001 were followed by a winter under Rod Marsh at the Academy in Adelaide. Key came back even leaner and hungrier, and more runs propelled him past Ian Bell - previously touted as the Next Big Thing - into the England side after Marcus Trescothick's broken thumb and Graham Thorpe's broken heart created a vacancy or two. A couple of gutsy innings followed in Australia, although he displayed a worrying propensity for getting out when seemingly set, especially just after a break in play. But in 2004, he burst back into the limelight, scoring 1000 first-class runs by the second day of June, and cracking a magnificent 221 against West Indies at Lord's, in his first Test appearance for over a year. The jury, however, was still out after a hit-and-miss winter in South Africa in 2004-05, when his culpable shot-selection in defeat at Cape Town was offset by an important half-century in the series-clinching victory at Johannesburg. He was appointed Kent's captain for the 2006 season, a role he took on "to enhance, not hamper" his career, and as captain of the England A team that took on the Sri Lankan and Pakistani tourists, it was clear he remained in the selectors' thoughts. This was confirmed when he was named in the Academy squad to be based in Perth during the winter's Ashes series, and in 2007 his one-day game, a self-confessed weakness, came to fruition as he led Kent to a memorable Twenty20 Cup triumph at Edgbaston. Come the 2008 season he was champing at the bit for a Test recall, as demonstrated by an unbeaten 178 for Kent against the New Zealand tourists, a performance that earned him the captaincy of the England Lions.

Read More

James Foster | England

Full name James Savin Foster

Born April 15, 1980, Whipps Cross, Leytonstone, Essex

Current age 29 years 53 days

Major teams England, Durham UCCE, Essex, Marylebone Cricket Club

Nickname Fozzy, Chief

Batting style Right-hand bat

Fielding position Wicketkeeper

Height 6 ft 0 in

Education Forest School; Durham University

Profile James Foster was earmarked early on as an England wicketkeeper in the making. After just four first-class matches for Essex he was selected for the England A tour of West Indies in 2000-01. At this point he was still sharing the English season between his studies at Durham University and playing for Essex, but once he committed full-time to cricket he was being talked of as a successor to Alec Stewart. His chance came on the 2001-02 one-day tour of Zimbabwe, where he made his debut at Harare, before earning a spot on the trip to India after Stewart opted out. He made a nervous start at Mohali, but became more assured during the tour and impressed with some determined innings. He retained his place for the tour of New Zealand after Christmas, but was ousted from the one-day squad when England searched for greater balance by using Marcus Trescothick. Then came a cruel break - literally - when his arm was broken during nets with Essex, allowing Alec Stewart to slot back into the team. Though Foster performed consistently in county cricket there was no way back in the summer of 2002, but he'd done enough to be the reserve keep on the Ashes tour that winter. He won one more Test cap, at Melbourne, when Stewart injured his arm, but was fighting a losing battle as England attempted to field five bowlers. When Stewart retired at the end of the 2003 season Andrew Flintoff's emergence had opened the way for a keeper at No. 7 - but it was Chris Read, not Foster, who got the nod. Since them, Geraint Jones has claimed the gloves and latterly Matt Prior. He was promoted to vice-captain during the 2007 season and impressed with both his batting and keeping in 2008 - in particular his standing up to the stumps, which was one of the decisive factors of his call-up to England's Twenty20 squad in 2009.

Read More