Abidine Sakande

A tall, powerful fast bowler, Abi Sakande balanced cricket with a human sciences degree at St John's College, Oxford before signing full-time with Sussex in 2016, but turned down a contract extension three seasons later after failing to nail down a first-team place.

Born in Chester but educated at Ardingly College in Sussex, Sakande made a single appearance for England Under-19s in 2013 before making his first-class debut in the 2014 Varsity Match. He impressed in MCCU fixtures against Middlesex and Worcestershire, counting Nick Compton among his victims, and was given an opportunity to impress for Sussex against the touring Pakistan in 2016, in a game better remembered as Jofra Archer's first-class debut.

He took a maiden first-class five-wicket haul in 2017 against a South Africa A side that included Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram, but his Championship appearances generally saw him leak runs, perhaps as a result of his overzealous attempts to seal his spot in the first team.

He looked set for a greater role in 2019 after a successful winter in Cape Town, but fell out of the side in July, and turned down an offer for an extension in September citing the competition for fast-bowling places at the club.

ESPNcricinfo staff