Murray Goodwin - Zimbabwe - Batsman

Goodwin is one of those players who has traveled all-around the world as a professional cricketer. Born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Goodwin spent his early years in Australia before returning to represent Zimbabwe. Goodwin spent his early years practicing on the hard and bouncy track at the WACA, Perth which helped him to become an excellent back-foot player. He is equally at home against spin of any kind using his feet to get to the pitch of the ball.

Goodwin made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Kandy in early 1998 and created an impact scoring 70 in the second innings. A fine stroke maker, Goodwin scored 3 centuries in a brief 19 match career. His best was a fine unbeaten 166 against Pakistan at Bulawayo.

A natural striker of the cricket ball, Goodwin also enjoyed a decent amount of success in the ODI format as well. He played 71 ODIs scoring 1818 runs at just over 27. Goodwin quit a flourishing Test career after the tour of England in 2000 as his wife could not adjust to Zimbabwe. Goodwin scored 1414 runs at an average of 42.84.

Goodwin returned to Australia and represented Western Australia in the domestic circuit and is a regular for English county, Sussex. He became a sort of legend with Sussex in 2003 with a club high score of 335* against Leicestershire helping seal a first ever domestic title for Sussex in 164 years. In 2009, Goodwin beat his own record when he plundered 344* against Somerset. He has also enjoyed strong showings for Western Australia.

Goodwin was a part of the unofficial ICL in its 2nd edition. He represented the Ahmedabad Rockets before quitting it to commit to Sussex.

After being released by Sussex in August 2012, Welsh county, Glamorgan hired his services. The old warhorse lends more heft to the Glamorgan batting unit, whilst simultaneously inspiring the younger boys in the team. Notably, he tallied more than 24,000 runs across multiple competitions for Sussex. Meanwhile, his son, Jayden, a leggie by trade, captains the Wales Under-11s.

By Pradeep Krishnamurthy