James Vince

His first extended run in the England Test side came at home in 2016, when he was picked for seven Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The outcome was disappointing: 212 runs at an average of 19.27, with no score of fifty or more. He often got himself set, yet the same expansive drive that makes him so attractive kept producing catches, and bowlers learned to exploit it. England left him out of the Test team once that summer ended. In one-day cricket he fared slightly better, reaching fifty against Sri Lanka, but he was omitted after three further innings.

A recall for the 2017-18 Ashes came as a surprise, as his County Championship average at the time was below 30. On the first day of the series in Brisbane, with Alastair Cook gone early, Vince batted at No. 3 and reached his maiden Test half-century. He added 125 with captain Joe Root before being run out for 83, which proved to be England's highest individual score of the match. He could not build on it, though, managing only 156 runs across his next eight innings, with six of those dismissals coming via catches to the wicketkeeper or the slip cordon.

A place at the 2019 World Cup looked unlikely until late April that year, when Alex Hales was suspended for recreational drug use and England needed a reserve opener. Vince had been in prolific form in the 2019 Royal London One-Day Cup, scoring 509 runs in 7 matches at a strike-rate of almost 111. He featured in three games against Pakistan in the build-up and was then named in the 15-man squad, but in three World Cup outings he totalled just 40 runs.

Beyond England duty, Vince is much sought after by Twenty20 franchises in leagues around the world.