Paul Walter

Paul Walter had already gained a cult following among Essex fans by the time he came to wider attention as Manchester Originals' "social secretary" and key all-round cog in their run to the final of the 2022 Men's Hundred. It was a banner summer for Walter, who scored his maiden first-class hundred at the age of 27, was Essex's second-leading run-scorer in the Blast and then led the way with the ball for Originals bowling his cutters and slower balls.

The combination of height, left-arm angle and canny variations, as well as levers to hit the ball long, led to the late-blooming Walter becoming an unlikely T20 globetrotter. After making a handful of appearances in the first edition of the ILT20, he was signed the following winter by Brisbane Heat, where he ended up with a BBL winners' medal; then added the PSL to his list with a stint at Peshawar Zalmi.

An imposing sight at 6ft 7in, Walter gradually demonstrated that batting was his stronger suit after debuting as a No. 10 for Essex. Able to generate bounce from a tall frame, he was a useful component of the squad that won the 2017 Championship. Red-ball opportunities were initially limited but he played all but three games as Essex won their maiden T20 Blast title two years later. In 2020 he was involved in Bob Willis Trophy success and the following year became a middle-order mainstay of the Championship side, averaging 36.26 with four fifties.

Walter signed his first professional contract for Essex in 2016, aged 22, after a successful trial period. He first attracted attention in the Essex Premier League when he struck six sixes in an over for Billericay, and later impressed for Hornchurch.
ESPNcricinfo staff