Jaik Mickleburgh is a top-order batsman and one of several candidates to provide Essex with a home-grown replacement for England's Test captain, Alastair Cook. Playing against an England XI ahead of the 2013 Ashes, Mickleburgh made 90 and 58 (although the match had its first-class status removed), before going on to have his most productive spell in county cricket, including a career-best 243 against Leicestershire.

Despite having started the season out of the side, due to the signing of Rob Quiney as overseas player, Mickleburgh finished 2013 as Essex's leading Championship run-scorer with 829 at an average of 41.45. He had spent the previous winter playing for Mid West Rhinos in Zimbabwe, with limited success, looking to reinvigorate his game after three years as a first-team regular while averaging in the twenties.

He failed to press on the following season, however, managing just one half-century as the emergence of another young opener in Nick Browne cost Mickleburgh his place in the Championship XI.

Mickleburgh learnt much of his cricket playing for Horsford CC where the senior pros, Paul Newman, the ex-Derbyshire player, and Chris Brown from Lancashire, helped nurture him. He came through the Essex academy, playing Minor Counties cricket with Norfolk, and made his first-team debut in September 2007 in the Twenty20 Floodlit Cup. He was awarded a full-time professional contract the following year and made a half-century on Championship debut in August 2008. He developed enough to be part of England's Under-19 set-up and was also included in the England performance squad over the winter of 2009-10.

ESPNcricinfo staff