When Vasbert Drakes was selected for West Indies' Champions Trophy squad at 33 in September 2002, he was offered a belated chance to build the sort of international career that seemed to have been his for the taking a few years earlier. Capable of genuine pace off a short run-up, and a very handy hard-hitting batsman with four first-class centuries to his name, Drakes's West Indies career had been limited to five one-day matches against Australia in 1994-95, and a place on the subsequent tour of England. But thereafter, Drakes chose to earn his living by playing county cricket in the English summer, and for Border in South Africa in the winter, which meant he was not eligible for national selection. It was only when the selectors realised how short-sighted this policy was that Drakes returned to the fold. He celebrated with the wicket of Jacques Kallis in his first international over for more than seven years, and went on to enjoy personal success in an anticlimatic World Cup campaign. The highlight of his career, however, came with the bat, when his unbeaten 27 steered West Indies to a world-record target of 418, against Australia in Antigua. In 2008 he took over as coach of the UAE.
Andrew Miller