A powerfully-built allrounder, Matt Coles made some giant strides in 2012 - three years after his Kent debut. He started the season by making headlines with his left-handed batting - scoring a maiden Championship century against Yorkshire at Headingley. The fact that he reached the landmark with a reverse sweep for six only underlined the impression that this was a young man with confidence to match obvious ability.

It was as a right-arm bowler of genuine pace that Coles more regularly caught the eye during the summer of 2012. He finished the campaign with 59 wickets at 22.35 runs apiece and, along the way, was called into the England Lions squad. Come the end of the season, Coles was included in a 17-strong party that formed England's Elite Performance Programme, based in India.

There was no shortage of promising young pace bowlers for England to keep an eye on but Coles' explosive batting looked to give him a handy advantage over at least some rivals. But after being selected on the England Lions tour to Australia in early January 2013 and playing three of the first four matches he was sent home for a second breach of discipline alongside Ben Stokes.

He returned to Kent but refused to sign a new contract and went on loan to Hampshire. 21 wickets at 24 in five matches were enough to earn him a three-year deal.
ESPNcricinfo staff