Good enough to captain Jamaica and win a Test cap for West Indies in 2002-3, Gareth Breese is an offspinning, hard-hitting allrounder who holds a British passport and has made himself a mainstay of the Durham team, particularly in limited-overs cricket.

Born in Montego Bay, Breese represented West Indies Under-19 before forcing his way into Jamaica's squad during the 1995-6 Red Stripe Cup. One of the successes of the 2001-02 Busta Cup campaign, Breese claimed 44 wickets for Jamaica with his offspin - including a career-best 7 for 60 in the semi-final victory over Barbados - and added more than 350 runs with some lusty lower-order hitting. He did well for the Busta XI that dismissed the Indian tourists for 150 in April, and was named in the squad for the first Test in Guyana - although in the event he didn't make his Test debut until six months later, on a Chennai turner in October 2002. His flat, guileless offspin, however, seemed better suited to the one-day arena, and he was a late addition to the West Indian World Cup squad, although he didn't play a game. By the end of 2003, he had joined Durham as a non-overseas player, and never looked back as he became a fixture on the county scene. In latter years he has often captained Durham's second XI, acting as a mentor to the next generation, while also remaining an important part of Durham's Twenty20 and 40-over campaigns.
Andrew Miller