Daren Powell - West Indies - Bowler

A right arm pacer, who hits the deck hard, Daren Powell made his Test debut in June 2002. He put up an average performance against New Zealand before failing horribly in India. Powell showed signs of control in Bangladesh but was jettisoned.

He orchestrated his second coming in 2005 for the home series against South Africa, albeit in eerie circumstances when the senior players and the board were at loggerheads over contractual disputes. Struggling for consistency, Powell was chopped in and out of the side thereafter.

He was comparatively more effective in ODIs, taking 71 wickets in 55 matches with a economy rate of just a shade over four and a half. He was an integral part of the West Indies team in the 2007 WC in the Caribbean, where he netted 14 scalps in 9 matches. As has been the case throughout his career, Powell did not build on the good periods. He stretched back to the straggler again and was perennially overlooked after March 2009 following which he shifted his focus towards English County Cricket.

By Deivarayan Muthu