Ray Price - Zimbabwe - Bowler

A left arm spinner in the classical mould, Ray Price was arguably the finest bowler of his category from Zimbabwe. Pretty much orthodox in style, he relied a lot on deception in the air, slowing them up considerably and then depending on the pitch to do the rest, very much basic stuff that worked efficiently for Price. His memorable moments include consecutive five-wicket hauls, both away from home, the first of which was in India, with Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman among the scalps. Zimbabwe lost that game heavily but Price's performance was applauded. He followed it up with another five-wicket haul in Australia, again a game that his side lost but they were more competitive and Price had a role to play in that.

In this career, Price picked up three more five-wicket hauls and was generally a steady bowler who could keep an end tight but at the same time, also probe the batsmen with his flight and subtle natural variations. His approach with the ball and temperament propped him as a Test specialist but Price eventually also ended with more than 100 ODIs to his kitty. The numbers weren't intimidating but those who watched him bowl would agree that Price had the ability to stump the best of batsmen with his wily brand of left-arm spin. In fact, the pundits rate him along side Paul Strang as the finest spinners to come out of Zimbabwe.

Like a lot of star players in the 2000s, Price was also part of the infamous rebel spat in 2004 which saw a plethora of cricketers, senior and junior, being axed for taking a stand against the administration. Price was also dropped and that forced him to make a move to England where he plied his trade for Worcestershire with a great amount of success in the 50-over format primarily. In 2008, Price made an international comeback and became a key member of Zimbabwe's ODI team, leading the bowling charts and even getting to the second spot in the ICC bowling rankings. Not many know that Price suffers from partial deafness and also has an uncle who was a superstar in golf.

Written by Hariprasad Sadanandan