A highly-talented bowling allrounder, James Faulkner has been Tasmania's best player during a period of great success for the state. His breakout season in 2010-11 - he collected 36 Sheffield Shield wickets at 17.72 - coincided with the Tigers winning the Shield for the second time. The following two summers brought the consistent Faulkner wicket tallies of 36 and 39 and he helped the Tigers reach the Shield final in 2011-12 and win it in 2012-13. His importance for Tasmania during those three seasons cannot be underestimated and in 2012-13 he won his third consecutive Ricky Ponting Medal as Tasmania's best player. An accurate left-armer who can move the ball both ways, Faulkner also possesses a deceptive slower ball, which helps make him a handful in the shorter formats. His one-day success for Tasmania and T20 performances for the Melbourne Stars led to international debuts in both formats in early 2013. Faulkner is also a talented lower-order batsman and his innings of 46 and 89 in the Shield final in 2012-13, combined with his four wickets for the match, contributed to him being named Man of the Match. Faulkner, whose father Peter also played for Tasmania, has represented three IPL teams and sold for $400,000 to the Rajasthan Royals in 2013.
ESPNcricinfo staff