michael kasprowicz

Born: 10.02.1972
State: Queensland
Tests: 38
Role: Bowler
Bat: Right-hand
Bowl: Right-arm fast-medium
Bat Average: 10.59
Bowl Average: 32.88

A hard-working and seemingly tireless bowler, Michael Kasprowicz is often seen as little more than a workhorse.

That may be harsh, but he has often excelled in unhelpful conditions in the sub-continent, and his willingness to bowl that extra over in searing heat makes him a popular man with captains.

He's played 38 Tests, but has never played more than 13 in a row, during a golden 2004 when he kept Brett Lee out of the side.

His bowling was largely ineffective in the 2005 Ashes series, but he was desperately close to becoming a hero at Edgbaston when his 59-run stand with Brett Lee for the tenth wicket took Australia within three runs of victory before he fell victim to a contentious caught-behind decision to hand England a victory that decisively altered the course of the series.

The two joined forces again in a 19-run stand to beat South Africa to ease some of the pain from Birmingham, but Kasprowicz has slipped down the seam-bowling pecking order, and a chronic back injury threatens to rule Kasper out of the Australians' attempts to regain the Ashes altogether.