Matthew Elliott - Australia - Batsman

Unlike most left-handed batsmen, Matthew Elliott wasn't overwhelmingly flamboyant in nature. Instead, he was nuggety in character and willing to fight it out with a rock solid technique. His sheer determination to graft was his biggest quality although he did have attractive strokes at his disposal. Elliott preferred to shun flair for solidity and being an opening batsman, this decision certainly helped. Despite having the skillset to succeed, he never had a happy international career. If anything, it was a stop-start time with the Australian cricket team and not always was form the reason for this.

Elliott broke into the national team in the 1996-97 season, primarily for the Test team although he did play a solitary ODI for his country. The start was impressive although the consistency was lacking. His Ashes centuries later that season stamped his caliber as a player for the future. However, the issues with form and his inability to cope with the dressing room environment crippled his career in a big way. There would often be temporary exiles from the team, only for the southpaw to make a comeback later. After the 1998-99 season, it seemed like Elliott's career was done for good.

However, like earlier instances, he rose after a five-year hiatus to make a comeback to the national team. This return was a result of a record-breaking Pura Cup season and other heroics in the domestic front which forced the selectors to take notice of the ageing left-hander. The comeback Test was a disaster though and Elliott never made it to the side again. He continued to plough away on the domestic circuit with great returns in the 50-over format but with a national comeback nowhere to be seen, decided to retire in 2008. Like many retired players at that time, Elliott also was a part of the Indian Cricket League.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan