Atif Sheikh

Raw but possessing great potential, Atif Sheikh was a left-arm bowler of unusual pace who rarely found the accuracy to enhance his hostility.

He joined the Derbyshire Academy in 2007 and followed fellow Academy graduates Jake Needham, Dan Redfern and Paul Borrington in signing a professional contract at the end of the 2008 season.

He made headlines in 2010 by dismissing Australian Test openers Shane Watson and Simon Katich when the tourists visited Derby for a two-day warm-up match. He made his Championship debut the same season against Gloucestershire, taking five wickets in the match, and opened the bowling for England in an Under-19 Test against Sri Lanka. However, he was unable to force his way into the senior Derbyshire side in any cricket in 2011 and left at the end of the season.

He eventually joined Leicestershire where he claimed a first-class hat-trick against Gloucestershire towards the end of the 2014 season and was soon identified by the new management as a player of great potential. Only two Championship matches the following season emphasised that he remained a work in progress and a single appearance in 2016 against the Sri Lankan tourists preceded his release before the end of the season.
ESPNcricinfo staff