Ian Daniel was earmarked as an international cricketer early, working his way steadily up through the representative ranks from the Sri Lanka Under-15 team. A technically sound opening batsman with a calm temperament, Daniel starred for the Under-19 team in particular, leading Sri Lanka's batting in the 2000 Youth World Cup staged in Sri Lanka. However, his progression into the first-class arena for the Sinhalese Sports Club was not smooth and a modest 31.17 average failed to attract the attention of the national selectors. The death of his father also appeared to hold back his development. A move to Bloomfield turned around his career, though, and in 2003 he fought his way into the A team. A prolific tour to New Zealand in 2004 - 322 runs at 53.66 - pushed him into the Test squad for the first time when Sri Lanka toured Zimbabwe in 2004.
Charlie Austin (April 2004)