Jamie Dalrymple

Kenyan-born Jamie Dalrymple is a genuine allrounder, an offspinner and a more than capable middle-order batsman. He made an impression during his time at Oxford, becoming only the fourth batsman to score a double hundred in the Varsity match when he hammered an unbeaten 236 in 2003 - he took five first-innings wickets for good measure - and he followed up with a hundred in the subsequent one-day fixture between the two sides a week later. His Middlesex opportunities were limited, but in 2004 he was available full-time, and in May he cracked a career-best 244 against Surrey at The Oval. Eight days later he made a match-winning hundred in the C&G Trophy against Glamorgan at Lord's. In June 2006, as England turned an eye to the future in the absence of several established stars, he was called up to the one-day squad for the NatWest Series against Sri Lanka, and made his debut in a warm-up against Ireland at Stormont. He soon became a rare glimmer of promise in a struggling side, and made himself an automatic pick for the one-day squad, and a near-miss for a Test debut at Sydney in January 2007. After helping to secure the CB Series in Australia with, among other things, the catch of his career at backward point, he was a shoo-in for England's World Cup squad in the West Indies but only played three games, disappointing in each of them. He turned down a new contract with Middlesex in late 2007, joining Glamorgan on a three-year deal. He was appointed as Glamorgan's captain for the 2009 season, but after two seasons became a high-profile casualty of a tumultous shake-up at the county. Stripped of the captaincy - with the position going to South African Alviro Petersen - Dalrymple promptly left and returned to Middlesex ahead of the 2011 season.
Martin Williamson May 2011