James Foster was earmarked early on as an England wicketkeeper in the making, and though opportunities at the top have been intermittent he has earned a reputation as one of the best glovemen in the English game.

After just four first-class matches for Essex he was selected for the England A tour of West Indies in 2000-01. At this point he was still sharing the English season between his studies at Durham University and playing for Essex, but once he committed full-time to cricket he was being talked of as a successor to Alec Stewart. His chance came on the 2001-02 one-day tour of Zimbabwe, where he made his debut at Harare, before earning a spot on the trip to India after Stewart opted out. He made a nervous start at Mohali, but became more assured during the tour and impressed with some determined innings.

He retained his place for the tour of New Zealand after Christmas, but was ousted from the one-day squad when England searched for greater balance by using Marcus Trescothick. Then came a cruel break - literally - when his arm was broken during nets with Essex, allowing Alec Stewart to slot back into the team. Though Foster performed consistently in county cricket there was no way back in the summer of 2002, but he'd done enough to be the reserve keeper on the Ashes tour that winter. He won one more Test cap, at Melbourne, when Stewart injured his arm, but was fighting a losing battle as England attempted to field five bowlers. When Stewart retired at the end of the 2003 season, Andrew Flintoff's emergence had opened the way for a keeper at No. 7 - but it was Chris Read, not Foster, who got the nod. Thereafter, Geraint Jones and latterly Matt Prior claimed the gloves.

Foster was promoted to Essex vice-captain during the 2007 season and impressed with both his batting and keeping in 2008 - in particular his standing up to the stumps, which was one of the decisive factors of his call-up to England's Twenty20 squad in 2009. Foster caught the eye for his work behind the stumps during the tournament, notably with a brilliant stumping of Yuvraj Singh against India, but was nevertheless left out of England's training and Lions squads ahead of that summer's Ashes series. He slotted straight back into Essex's side, and in September sent a message to the England selectors about his hitting power when he struck Durham legspinner Scott Borthwick for five consecutive sixes off the first five balls of an over as Essex surged to a seven-wicket Pro40 victory at Chester-le-Street. He was overlooked once again for the World Twenty20 in 2010 but refused to dwell on the snub and in June was named Essex Twenty20 captain. A month later he took over full duties from Mark Pettini and remained at the helm in 2011, when he was the county's leading first-class runscorer in an underwhelming season for Essex.

In 2012, he averaged over 50, while his wicket keeping was reckoned to be better than ever. While an England recall continued to look fantastical, Foster impressed for Northern Districts as a Twenty20 player in 2012-13. In the shorter formats, he has developed into a skilful and innovative finisher, his idiosyncratic foot movement often disturbing bowlers.
ESPNcricinfo staff