Justin Kemp

Justin Miles Kemp was supposed to be the next big thing in South African cricket but after climbing a few staircases his career ran out of gas.

Born in Queenstown, Cape Province, Kemp is a powerful right-handed batsman and a utility fast-medium bowler. He made his international debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka in 2001. However, he didn't get many chances with the bat but impressed with his fast bowling prowess. The selectors awarded him with a chance to make his Test debut and he proved his selection by taking five wickets in the match.

Following a good show, he was included in the squad to tour the Caribbean Islands but he failed with the bat and also got involved in a controversy after admitting to have smoked marijuana. This was probably the start of the downfall of his career as he was dropped following that incident. The brutal batsmen never got a fair chance to prove his worth with the bat, which is evident from the fact that before getting dropped he was involved in 14 ODIs where he batted just six times, scoring 70 runs. Though, his bowling remained an asset as he claimed 17 wickets during that period.

After spending nearly three years out of the team, Justin Kemp finally returned against England in the home series. He was in no mood to let go that opportunity and he amassed his way back into the side with a few brutal knocks; which included a 36-ball 57 at Cape Town and a quickfire 50-ball 80 at East London, both resulting in South Africa's win. His ODI career kick-started but unfortunately he lost his spot in the Test team after the 2005 tour of Australia.

Tagged as a one-day specialist, “Kempie” was looked up by the nation as the next Lance Klusener. He showed glimpses here and there with his aggressive kind of hitting but often lacked consistency. One of his notable performances in one-dayers came against India when he struck his maiden hundred and dragged his side out of misery and single-handedly won them the match.

A flop campaign in 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup followed by an average ICC World Twenty20, led to him getting dropped once again and since then he has found it very tough to make his way back into the side. He also participated in the rebel league in India and in 2010 was signed by Chennai Super Kings. Kemp also gives his services to Cape Cobras in the domestic circuit.