With a bounding, rhythmic approach to the wicket and the ability to nip the ball back into the right-hander, Mullally is England's leading left-arm seamer. But he's tidy rather than terrifying, and an up-and-down Test career in which he often sprayed the new ball out of the openers' reach is now second on his CV behind his one-day achievements, where his outstanding economy rate helped him at one stage up to No. 2 in the world. Born in Southend, but bred in Western Australia, Mullally began with WA, had brief spells with Hampshire and Victoria, before moving to Leicestershire. A winter in the gym in 1998-99 gave his bowling extra edge and movement, and he returned to Hampshire (he loves the sea) to team up with Shane Warne in 2000. They took wickets - but no-one else did. Mullally's batting is a joke, although the 16 he made against a fired-up Glenn McGrath in Melbourne in 1998-99 proved decisive - England won by 12 runs. In the last couple of seasons Hampshire's youth policy and a run of injuries have limited Mullally's chances and at the end of the 2005 season he announced his retirement.
Lawrence Booth