A product of the Gloucestershire academy, Liam Norwell burst onto the scene in April 2011 with 6 for 46 against Derbyshire. A stress fracture of the back quickly halted the start to his career, leading him to be drip-fed into the Gloucestershire first XI, but his strong, thick-set frame demonstrated potential hat he began to deliver with 61 Championship wickets in 2015.

He topped Gloucestershire's bowling averages the following season, but his most exciting moment came when, as a regular No. 11 pressed into nightwatchman duties, he made an unlikely maiden first-class century against Derbyshire in Bristol - it was his first century in any form of cricket. His career first-class average unbtil then had barely been in double figures. He expressed surprise afterwards that Derbyshire had bowled persistently short at him.

After his excellent first-class debut, Norwell played two more games before injury prevented his return until 2012; that season he took an admirable 22 wickets at 28.72. The following year he again suffered with injuries and his season was limited to just seven appearances for the first XI.

2014 saw Norwell's finest moment at that point in a Gloucestershire shirt, again unsurprisingly with the bat. He made 78 against Worcestershire at Cheltenham in July 2014 - the highest score by a No. 11 for the county - and shared a stand of 137 with Craig Miles for the 10th wicket - also a county record. His batting was a case of occasional plenty interrupting long periods of drought.

A return of 59 wickets at 17.39 in 2017 was comfortably his finest Championship season. He terrorised Leicestershire at start of season and end his 8 for 43 in September representing the best return of his career.

ESPNcricinfo staff