Chris Dent is a highly-talented left-handed top order batsman who was given a place in the Gloucestershire first XI while still a teenager. His precocity had been translated into sizeable contributions across all formats by 2016, leading his coach, Richard Dawson, to suggest that with more self-belief he had the potential to join others such as Keaton Jennings and Nick Browne, in the list of left-handers of England potential.

Bristol-born, Dent's professional career got underway in August 2009, when he signed for his home county and made his one-day debut before the season was out. He represented England Under-19s in the World Cup in New Zealand in January 2010, scoring 96 runs at 32.00 as England lost to West Indies in the quarter-final. That summer he made his first-class debut against Northamptonshire at Bristol.

Despite a modest return of 725 runs, Dent played every Championship game in 2010 and in 2011 was promoted to open the batting, where he returned a more fruitful 649 runs at 34.15, including a maiden first-class century, exactly 100, against Surrey at Cheltenham. His 2012 was hampered by a broken little finger - the same digit he was forced to have surgery on the season before - but a year later finally saw him deliver on his promise and he signed a contract extension to 2016. His 2014 began with a double century against Cardiff MCCU but it was the falsest of dawns as just 436 runs in 22 Championship innings followed.

He produced a breakthrough season in 2013 with 1128 first-class runs at 45.12 and a maiden List A century, an unbeaten 151 at Cardiff. , but a year later endured a miserable summer of only 436 runs in 22 innings. He left it late to confirm his potential in 2015, following up his part in Gloucestershire's Royal London Cup win with a late-season double century - 268 against Glamorgan at Bristol - which squeezed him past 1,000 Championship runs. Only four batsmen - Will Spearman, WG Grace, Wally Hammond and Gilbert Jessop - had scored more runs in an innings, for Gloucestershire.

ESPNcricinfo staff