A tall (6ft 7in) fast bowler, Charlie Shreck started his career late - he was 25 when he made his county debut after being spotted playing league cricket in his native Cornwall. He had appeared for Worcestershire second XI in 1996, and also for Nottinghamshire seconds from 1999, and for four seasons had been a regular member of the Cornwall side.

He had a reasonable first two seasons in county cricket, but missed the whole of Nottinghamshire's Championship-winning campaign in 2005 after breaking down with a stress fracture of his back. He returned via a spell in New Zealand in 2005-06, and enjoyed his best summer in 2006 when he took over fifty wickets for the first time, including a hat-trick against Middlesex at Lord's. He remained a consistent, if slightly injury-prone, wicket-taker and was rewarded with an England Lions call-up while playing for Wellington during the 2007-08 winter.

First-team appearances for Notts were not as plentiful as Shreck would have liked, however - given he captured almost 400 wickets in all forms since his 2002 debut - and he took the decision to seek a new county (thereby rejecting the offer of a benefit year) at the end of 2011. It turned out to be a shrewd move, cricket-wise at least, for both the player and his new employers, Kent. Having played one match on loan for Kent in 2011, Shreck appeared in all 16 Championship fixtures in 2012 and topped the wickets column with 55 at 26.44.
Martin Williamson and ESPNcricinfo staff