Shaun Tait    

Shaun Tait's body found the Test workload too tough but he has remained a brutal bowler in the game's short forms. In January 2008 he took an indefinite break from the game due to physical and emotional exhaustion and since returning later that year has focused only on Twenty20s and one-dayers. The method has proved highly successful as he floats around the world delivering short, blistering spells. As a late addition to Australia's one-day squad in 2010, he unleashed a ball against England at Lord's that registered at 161.1kph, the second-fastest of all-time, but it has been the consistent push for speed that has crippled him regularly.

While Tait's shoulder-strong action slung him on to the 2005 Ashes tour, where he played two Tests ahead of his more celebrated South Australia team-mate Jason Gillespie, it soon disrupted his quest for further international impact. With a muscular and unrefined method that seems to invite pain, Tait returned from England buoyed by his promotion only to hurt himself in a grade match and the subsequent shoulder surgery forced him out for the rest of the year. He experienced no damage to his frightening pace stores, and returned to national colours in the absence of Brett Lee to play a significant role in Australia's unbeaten defence of the 2007 World Cup. He was back in the Caribbean three years later when Australia reached the World Twenty20 final, and remains a favourite of Ricky Ponting's for his strike-power. He was one of the key components of Australia's pace-heavy 2011 World Cup campaign, but once they exited at the quarter-final stage, he announced his decision to quit one-day cricket and focus completely on the Twenty20 format.

Despite numerous setbacks - a back problem suffered in the nets ended his trip to South Africa and a hamstring complaint delayed his ODI entry until the eve of the World Cup in 2007 - his old-fashioned approach of yorkers and bumpers mixed with a modern dose of sharp reverse-swing causes huge excitement for everyone but the batsmen. Like Dennis Lillee, another whose body broke chasing pace, Tait can shine the ball across his chest, and finished his first Test day with a splash of red on his shirt as well as the wickets of Marcus Trescothick and Ian Bell.

The Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year in 2003-04, Tait also picked up the ING Cup's Best New Talent prize, chiefly for his 8 for 43 against Tasmania, the most impressive figures in domestic limited-overs history. When Lee was injured Tait was taken as a development player on the Sri Lanka tour, where he introduced himself to Ponting in the nets by hitting him in the head with a bouncer. His early beginnings might have been spicy, but his next year was even tastier with 65 first-class wickets in ten matches. An abbreviated 2005-06 included 6 for 41 in the ING Cup Final - an amazing combination of spot-on speed and 14 wides - and he backed up the following season to earn his first start in the national one-day side.

In his opening two matches he showed his range, giving up 2 for 68 and 1 for 26 from his ten overs, and clocked 160kph. It won him a World Cup spot and his 23 wickets at 20.30 in the Caribbean proved Lillee's belief that he "has all the resources to stick the ball right up the noses of the batsmen". However, he needed elbow surgery on his return home and spent the winter in rehab. A child of the Adelaide Hills, he received his best advice at the age of seven when his father suggested he play cricket.
Peter English and ESPNcricinfo staff March 2011

Man of the Match

2007
4 for 39 v South Africa, St Lucia

• 4 for 39 v South Africa, St Lucia, 2007 World Cup
  • South Africa were Australia's biggest threat but after they started the semi-final poorly, Tait stepped in with another brutal performance. He removed AB de Villiers and Herschelle Gibbs before helping to finish of the tail as South Africa slipped for 149.