One of the most popular West Indian cricketers in England, Wayne Daniel was a rip-roaring fast bowler of immense potential that went wasted to an extent in Test cricket. Blessed with an athletic frame and an intimidating bowling run up that was long as well, Daniel loved to play mind games with the batsmen. His aggression with the ball was a sight to behold, often ramming the middle of the pitch, no matter how flat it was, and thereby causing the batsmen to jump around the crease. Needless to say, he was really fast in terms of pace and that made him such an asset to have. However, his stardom coincided with Kerry Packer's tempting World Series League and he was among the several star talents to join the bandwagon.

Taking part in the WSL definitely hurt Daniel's Test career to an extent, for he could have been a formidable force as he was at his prime. Once the WSL ended, he did manage to stage a comeback and even registered his first and only five-wicket haul, that too on a dry surface in Ahmedabad against India. He was fairly consistent in wicket-taking since his comeback but the WSL hangover meant that he didn't have the backing of the management and selectors. It didn't fluster him though and instead, he opted to play county cricket for Middlesex - a move that catapulted him to fame in England in a big way. He was loved greatly by the people there. Towards the later stage of his career, he mentored budding fast bowlers and also spent time as a radio commentator.

Written by Hariprasad Sadanandan