Greg Lamb

An allrounder who bowls offspin and bats in the middle order, Greg Lamb joined Hampshire's second XI in the summer of 2001 after being groomed by spells at the Zimbabwe Cricket Academy and with Mashonaland A in his youth. In 2005 he played in the winning Hampshire side in the C&G Trophy final against Warwickshire at Lord's, and was also a valuable member of the squad that finished runners up in the County Championship that season. In 2006 he struggled to get a regular place in the Championship side but topped the team's averages in the Twenty20 Cup with 183 runs at a strike rate of 115.82. But his opportunities in Hampshire's first XI dwindled along with falling returns with both bat and ball. After a forgettable 2007 season, he had more opportunities in 2008 but only had an impact in limited-overs games. He was released by Hampshire at the end of the 2009 season without having made a single appearance in their first XI in any format, and decided to take his chances with a return to Zimbabwe. The move paid immediate dividends for him, and before the season was over he had been called up to the national side for the tour to West Indies. Signed by the Mashonaland Eagles franchise, Lamb averaged 55.68 in the Logan Cup with two hundreds and 64.00 in the one-day competition - to go with a handy bowling average of 32.85 - before his call-up.
Liam Brickhill