Ronald Charles Irani

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Few players become a legend during their career, but Ronnie Irani is one of them, at least with followers of his county, Essex. Physically imposing, he possesses enormous self-belief, while his admirers ensure that he is not alone in the Ronnie Irani fan club.

It was not always so. Unable to hold down a regular first-team place during four years with his native Lancashire, he moved south to Essex for the 1994 season and immediately made an impact. He was awarded his county cap during his first season at Chelmsford and, two years later, was in the England one-day international team. Still an avid Manchester United supporter, he made the memorable statement on his selection: "Can you believe it, Ronnie Irani picked for England on the same day that Eric Cantona is left out by France?"

The same season he was given a Test debut and while his batting showed promise, his bowling was dispatched to all parts. After two matches he was dropped, but he came back into international reckoning for the one-day series against Pakistan at the end of that summer and was selected for the 1996/97 tour of Zimbabwe and New Zealand.

That tour was not an outstanding success, and it was two years before Irani was recalled to international colours with a single Test appearance against New Zealand when both he and England failed to impress. This recall coincided with the appointment of his county captain Nasser Hussain as England skipper, when, as vice-captain, Irani took over the Essex captaincy. He disappointed on the England A tour to Bangladesh and New Zealand, when he had few chances to impress and also contracted chicken-pox in Christchurch to leave him, quite literally, isolated.

Cast back into the international wilderness, at county level Irani's reputation was steadily enhanced, and with total justification. After specialist bowling coaching from former Essex paceman Ian Pont, he added both speed and control to his ebullient enthusiasm, while his batting benefited from work with new county coach Graham Gooch. In 12 first-class matches in 2002 he averaged 61.06 with the bat and took 29 wickets at 20.37.

His haul would have been greater had he not been equally prolific in one-day cricket, forcing his way back into the England squad for the NatWest Series of one-day internationals. It was not a selection that met with universal approval, but he justified it by offering his captain a degree of control with the ball and versatility with the bat, depending on whether the innings needed rebuilding or greater momentum.

When the Test side was ravaged by injury in 2002 he was named in the squad for the final match against India at the Oval, although he was released in time to return to duty with his county. Nevertheless, he must have been one of the early names on the team sheet when England announced their squad for the ICC Champions Trophy tournament, and he was also added to the Australian tour party as a one-day specialist. With the World Cup in mind, his unquenchable self-belief and the confidence of his army of supporters had, it seemed, begun to rub off on the selectors.