Denesh Ramdin      

Originally a fast bowler who then kept wicket when he had finished his stint with the ball, at 13 Denesh Ramdin decided to concentrate on keeping, honing his reflexes and working on his agility. He led both Trinidad & Tobago's and West Indies' Under-19 sides before being selected, aged 19 and with only 13 first-class games under his belt, as first-choice gloveman for the senior squad's tour of Sri Lanka in 2005. He impressed with his work behind and in front of the stumps, in the series against Australia in November 2005. A plucky 71 in the second Test of the series in Hobart was his best moment down under. When India toured the West Indies in mid-2006, Ramdin's wicketkeeping was impressive on pitches that often saw the ball dying even before reaching him. His batting was patchy, though a superb calculated assault on the Indian bowlers in the final stages of the Kingston Test proved a fine reminder of his undoubted prowess in that quarter as well.

He averaged 18.60 in the 2006-07 season as his batting continued to flounder but, nevertheless, was included in the World Cup squad where, a fifty against Australia aside, his desperate form with the bat continued. Perhaps it was more a sign of how bare the cupboard was rather than Ramdin's dominance that he was the sole keeper picked to tour England in 2007. He didn't have much impact with the bat in the Test series in South Africa later that year, although his glovework was immaculate, and he remained the team's No. 1 keeper. Ramdin was named ODI vice-captain for the away series in New Zealand at the end of the year. He finally hit his maiden Test century - 166 against England in Barbados - in March 2009 and continues to be West Indies' first-choice wicketkeeper in the five-day format.
Martin Williamson December 2008