He grew up to become a combative allrounder, an ace fielder and a Zimbabwe captain. He led from the front in the famous victory over Australia in the 1983 World Cup, but this was in the pre-Test era and he spent his days in systems management. In 1999 he became the first foreigner to coach England, and the first non-Test player.

Andrew Flintoff established himself as England's greatest allround cricketer since the days of Ian Botham, producing a succession of wholehearted and inspirational performances to reap 402 runs and 24 wickets in five Tests, and carry his team to Ashes glory in arguably the greatest Test series of all time.

Ashley Giles established himself as England's No. 1 slow bowler during the triumphant tour of Pakistan in 2000-01. Throughout his tenure, he has had to justify his selection at almost every moment of uncertainty, and in early 2004 he came close to retirement after a modest tour of the Caribbean. He produced a wickedly ripping delivery to bowl Brian Lara - his 100th wicket in Tests, weeks after being virtually written off by the press. In the field he has a strong arm and is agile for a man of his size.

Fast-tracked into the Test team at the expense of the superior gloveman. No player better encapsulated the fluctuating fortunes of the 2005 Ashes series than Geraint Jones. Born in Papua New Guinea to Welsh parents, Jones lived and learned his cricket in Australia until he was 22, and was almost 27 when he first came to the attention of the England selectors. But he had timed his run to perfection. In the 2003 season - Alec Stewart's last - Jones scored the best part of 1000 runs at an average of more than 50.

On May 21, 2004, playing against New Zealand, Andrew Strauss wrote his name into the record-books when he became only the fourth batsman to score a century at Lord's on his Test debut. . As a fluid and attractive left-hand opener, Strauss knew all about pressure and how to handle it. After cementing his place with a pair of attractive sixties against West Indies, he confirmed his star quality - and his affinity for Lord's - with a hundred against the same opposition on his first one-day appearance in front of his home crowd.

A fierce hitter and a tidy left-arm spinner whose first wicket was Steve Waugh, the chunky Ian Blackwell was called up by England when Andrew Flintoff pulled out of the ICC Trophy in Sri Lanka in 2002. An unwillingness to adhere to England squad's strict fitness regime meant that he spent much of the following two years in the wilderness, but his appointment as Somerset captain heralded a new responsible outlook, and a recall to the England one-day squad for the tour of Pakistan.

Ian Bell had been earmarked for greatness long before he was drafted onto the England tour of New Zealand in 2001-02, as cover for the injured Mark Butcher. A former England U19 captain, Bell had played just 13 first-class games when called into the England squad, though in 2001 he scored 836 runs for Warwickshire at an average of over 64, including three centuries.

Pietersen, an enthusiastic, bold-minded and big-hitting No 5, first ruffled feathers by shunning South Africa - he was disenchanted with the quota system - in favour of England; his eligibility coming courtesy of an English mother. He never doubted he would play for England: he has self-confidence in spades but, fortunately, he has sackfuls of talent tooi.

Paul Collingwood is perhaps the first specialist fielder to earn regular selection for a Test squad. He made England's one-day team in 2001, but four years and numerous tours later, he had played in just three Tests. In Australia in 2002-03 he started the VB Series as 12th man, but was soon spanking a memorable maiden international century against Sri Lanka at Perth - a round 100 that confirmed his place in the 2003 World Cup squad.

A strapping, genuinely quick fast bowler, James Anderson had played only three one-day games for Lancashire in the 2002 season - he'd played more for his club Burnley - before being called into England's VB Series squad the following winter as cover for Andy Caddick, following an impressive stint at the Academy in Adelaide.

Kabir bowls with strength and stamina, and hits the bat hard from just short of a length, albeit with a somewhat low-slung action. At a time when England fast bowlers were dropping like flies in Australia in 2002-03, Kabir's single-minded approach at the Adelaide Academy won him many friends - and promotion to the one-day squad.

Hoggard shapes the ball away from the right-hander at pace and is surprisingly slippery off the pitch, although he can be Fraserishly ineffective when the ball refuses to move. With just two Tests under his belt, Hoggard was chosen to lead the attack on an arduous tour of India in 2001-02 where he charged in obediently and accurately, and capped his winter with figures of 7 for 63 against New Zealand at Christchurch.

Mudhsuden Singh Panesar is known in the game as Monty, and has quickly established himself as one of the next generation of spinners in English cricket. He made the well-trodden path from Bedfordshire, where he was born, to Northamptonshire, progressing through the youth teams until he was chosen to play for England Under-19s.

Shaun Udal made his international debut in 1994, hand-picked by Ray Illingworth when he became chairman of selectors at the beginning of the summer. The arrival of Shane Warne at Hampshire had revived his career and turned him into a much more attacking bowler, and he continued to make valuable runs in the lower order.

In March 2004, he loped in to produce a spell of irresistible fast bowling that Ambrose himself could hardly have bettered. West Indies were blown away for 47, and Harmison's figures of 7 for 12 were the best in Tests at Sabina Park.