GRAHAM THORPE
Left-hand batsman |
 | FACTFILE DOB: 1.8.1969 Team: Surrey Test debut: v Australia, Trent Bridge, 1993 ODI debut: v Australia, Old Trafford, 1993 |
The finest left-handed English batsman since David Gower, Thorpe returned from 13 months spent in the international wilderness to score a century against South Africa at The Oval.
And England decided his history of pulling out of tours with off-field problems was not enough to rule him out of this winter's engagements.
Thorpe's ability to find gaps in the field, taking ones and twos regularly, means he is ideally suited to the high-pressure environment of the subcontinent.
The only thing that could prevent him from playing a full part in Sri Lanka is the selectors' keenness to blood younger players, especially Paul Collingwood and Rikki Clarke.
But he did score two half-centuries in the Bangladesh Tests so he is expected to be part of the starting XI in Galle on 2 December.
MMIX
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