Mahendra Nagamootoo is a bits-and-pieces man who admitted, after scoring 68 at Sydney in his second Test in 2000-01, that batting comes easier to him than the legbreak bowling he was actually picked to do.

He rolls the ball out from a chest-on action, without getting too much purchase on it, and though he achieved a rare feat by bowling Steve Waugh in that Sydney game, it came via a freak rebound from the leg-side rough. A free-hitting left-handed batsman, Nagamootoo also looked an outstanding fielder in a sluggish team