Pietermaritzburg-born and raised before his family moved to England in 2001, Stuart Meaker is making big strides as a fast bowler at Surrey. With a short run-up and low trajectory, he is reminiscent of Simon Jones at the bowling crease. Like Jones, Meaker has attracted plenty of attention for the pace he generates and though rumours that he was clocked at 96mph may be overcooking it, he is certainly fast and getting quicker.

A graduate of Cranleigh School, in 2003 he won the Daily Telegraph fast bowling award, the Channel 4 outstanding team player award and the AA Thompson fielding award. He finished his school career by winning the EW Swanton cricket prize and within a fortnight of leaving he won his England Under-19 call-up, having played some pre-season friendlies for Surrey. He made his Surrey debut as a 19-year-old in 2008 and had a spell in grade cricket that winter in Sydney, returning in 2009 with better accuracy to join his pace. Meaker was also the first recipient of the ECB's Harold Larwood Fast Bowling Scholarship to Australia and despite struggling, with the rest of his team-mates, in 2010 made an excellent start to the 2011 season. His efforts bore fruit when he made his debut for England Lions against Sri Lanka A that summer, and he was called up to England's limited-overs squad for their trip to India in October.
Sahil Dutta