Vermeulen peppered the boundary during his innings at Hove

But he will achieve a personal highlight next week when he walks out to bat in a Test match at Lord's for the first time.

The 24-year-old made certain of his place with a magnificent century in the warm-up game against Sussex at Hove.

Afterwards, however, he was left to reflect on how close he came to not making the trip at all.

In February, Vermeulen walked away unhurt after a car in which he and his brother were travelling veered off the road and plunged down an embankment.

But he was not so lucky during the World Cup when he was hit on the head by a ball from team-mate Travis Friend while batting in the nets.

"It went through the visor and cracked my skull. There is still a loose piece of bone floating around in there," the former Zimbabwe under-19 captain recalls.

After a modest return of 66 runs in three matches, the injury meant Vermeulen was able to play no further part in the torunament, and he also missed a one-day tournament in Sharjah which followed.

Ironically, it was the retirement of the man who replaced him in the World Cup squad, Alistair Campbell, which created the vacancy for him to make the England tour party.

It was the most painful thing I have ever experienced Mark Vermeulen

Having lost Campbell, Guy Whittall and, most impoirtant of all, record scorer Andy Flower, finding new batting talent is a top priority for Zimbabwe.

And Vermeulen, who stands 6ft 4ins tall, has the physical advantages to recommend him. Now it is a question of finding out whether he has what it takes to be a consistent performer at international level.

He made an encouraging start last November by taking on Pakistan's powerful pace attack and scoring 79 off 81 balls in only his second one-day international.

His reward was a Test debut against the same opponents in Bulawayo, falling lbw to Shoaib Akhtar for two in the first innings before making a bright and breezy 26 in the second.

The following month, he hit 12 fours in making 62 off 53 balls in a one-day match against Kenya, and it his his willingness to go for his shots which is his greatest strength.

But in Test cricket, it could also be a potential weakness on pitches which help the seamers - like Lord's.

VERMEULEN FACTFILE Born: 2.3.1979 Harare First-class debut for Mashonaland A 1997 ODI debut v Sri Lanka, Sharjah 2000 Test debut: v Pakistan, Bulawayo 2002

Vermeulen's face will not be unfamiliar to at least one of England's players - he scored 134 in the second U19 Test at Nottingham in 1997 against a side led by Andrew Flintoff.

He freely admits that his career ambitions are set high.

"Hopefully I can break some records - I love records," he said.

But for now, he is taking a down to earth view of Zimbabwe's place in international cricket.

"We are just concentrating on doing the simple things well because we obviously do not have any out-and-out superstars."

For Zimbabwe to prosper in the future, they need someone like Vermeulen to become one.