Tom Kohler-Cadmore

Tom Kohler-Cadmore was rejuvenated by a move to Somerset ahead of the 2023 season as he gradually developed a reputation - perhaps unwanted - as one of the best players of his generation never to win an England cap. A destructive top-order batter who can also keep wicket, Kohler-Cadmore established himself as a regular on the franchise circuit as he ticked into his 30s, including a short taste of the IPL with Rajasthan Royals. He was a late call-up to a second-string ODI squad to face Ireland in 2023, but that was as close as he came to international cricket.

Kohler-Cadmore made a name for himself as a Wisden Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year and one of the most talented young batters in county cricket - first with Worcestershire, then Yorkshire - before a court case involving a former team-mate brought him unwanted attention from a wider audience. The trial of Alex Hepburn - who was convicted of rape - brought misogynistic WhatsApp messages to light that involved Kohler-Cadmore and Joe Clarke, though neither was accused of any criminal wrongdoing. They were both fined and handed suspensions for bringing the game into disrepute, and stood down from England Lions duty.

His ability was never in doubt: in 2016, he struck a 43-ball hundred for Worcestershire, and his move to Yorkshire in 2017 infuriated coach Steve Rhodes, who packed him off mid-season. It was a return home of sorts: he grew up near Hull and had played for Yorkshire at age-group level before joining the Worcestershire academy via a cricket scholarship at nearby Malvern College. His time in Leeds was largely a success on the field - he occasionally deputised as captain in the Blast - but he was on the move again five years later, released from the final year of his Yorkshire contract to sign for Somerset.

The club had sacked its staff en masse in the fall-out from Azeem Rafiq's allegations of institutional racism - his father, Mick, stepped down from his role as dressing-room attendant in solidarity with those let go - and when Kohler-Cadmore returned from the PSL with concussion symptoms, he was frustrated that his return was effectively delayed by the absence of full-time medical staff. Amid the general sense of turbulence at the club, he decided it was time to move on.

While his first-class returns dipped, Kohler-Cadmore became an increasingly consistent T20 hitter, best known for hitting "no-look'" sixes over wide mid-on. He regularly earned lucrative contracts in the Hundred, won the Blast twice in three years with Somerset - taking the winning catch in 2023 - and became the unlikely star of the Abu Dhabi T10; after the 2024 edition, he was the tournament's all-time highest run-scorer, ahead of Nicholas Pooran. He was caught in the crossfires of controversial changes to the ECB's policy on No-Objection Certificates in 2024-25, and swiftly renegotiated the terms of his Somerset contract to allow him to take up a lucrative PSL deal.