Asif Masood

From a tall frame, Asif Masood was a threat with the new ball. Not that he was extremely quick but still had enough pace and movement to trouble the batsmen. The most unsettling aspect started right from his bowling action which was unorthodox and difficult to read for the batsmen. He had a great ability to swing the ball and could also move it off the pitch both ways. Despite his skill set, Asif couldn't have a long international career and even in the brief stint he had, couldn't return impressive numbers. At the first-class level, he had over 300 wickets, that came at a laborious rate. In conditions that aided fast bowling, in England and Australia, Masood performed reasonably well but couldn't succeed on docile pitches due to his lack of pace. After a rather disappointing international career, he retired and shifted base to England where he spent time in business in Lancashire.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan