A dazzling right handed batsman, who could clear the boundaries without breaking a sweat on his day, Ricardo Powell was West Indies cricket's very own Shahid Afridi. Such days though could be numbered with the former's crude slogging often backfiring badly.

As a 20 year old, he burst onto the international stage with a thunderous bang, bashing a 93-ball-124, spurring West Indies to overhaul 254 in the final of the Coca-Cola Cup against India in Singapore. He continued to be a regular in the West Indies ODI side despite the big failures dwarfing the occasional success. He was persisted with for the X-factor he brought to the table. He was tried out in two Tests too, which was a blot from the blue, considering his lack of technique and footwork. Hand-eye coordination was Powell's cup of tea.

He plied his whacky trade until stepping aside from international cricket in 2006/06. Powell then joined the U.S Tigers Cricket Club and even played for International World XI against the Pakistan All Star XI in Karachi.

Interesting facts:
1. Powell is the youngest West Indian to hit an ODI ton.
2. He is married to Caribbean TV talk show host Alicia Powell.

By Deivarayan