Shane Shillingford

Shane Shillingford showed his true mettle when he prevailed years of toil in domestic cricket combined with allegations of suspect action to represent West Indies in the international arena.

Immediately after his domestic debut in 2000-01, the Dominican was accused of throwing by none other than the international umpire Steve Bucknor who no-balled him thrice in a regional game. But the revised 15 degree rule by the ICC came to his rescue and since then he has not been called for throwing. A good series in Bangladesh in early 2010 where his 4-22 against South Africa A was pivotal in West Indies A's narrow win, was followed by a good home series against England A. His performances brought him into reckoning for the Test series against South Africa where he made an impressive debut in the 1st Test, picking up 3 wickets in the first innings and finished the series with 9 wickets. But the same year saw him being suspended as his bowling analysis revealed that his elbow extension was 17 degrees, two more than the permitted 15 degrees.

A positive, attacking bowler who is not afraid to give the ball some air, Shillingford is a proven performer in domestic cricket. However the rigours of international cricket are tougher and he felt the brunt of it as in the historic Wankhede Test in 2013, he was reported for a suspect action and was banned henceforth from playing in international cricket, pending a 14-day limit appeal from the bowler. Problems aside, Shillingford has the potential to compete along with the likes of Saeed Ajmal and his strike-rate is a clear indication.