Liam Plunkett

A tall, burly-built fast-bowler, Liam Plunkett has come a long way in his career. Started representing the English colors in 2005, Plunkett was his national team’s key man during the triumph of the 2019 World Cup. Plunkett burst onto the international scene as a tearaway quick who could swing the handle down the order to become England’s long-unanswered solution of finding a fine allrounder. 

A 20-year-old Plunkett was fast-tracked into the national side to make his international debut on the tour of Pakistan in 2005 and became the third pacer for England, before hitting the rock-bottom in 2007. The Yorkshire-born made a pretty solid statement in the 2009-10 season to secure his berth back in England’s squad for the tour of South Africa. Later, the southpaw was picked for the World Cup squad to tour the sub-continent, where he played three games. 

However, when Plunkket’s career was looking to blossom after the comeback, a combination of injuries and problems haunted him and halted his international career for three long years. The pacer made another comeback in 2014 but couldn’t really succeed to expected levels in the Test format, though Plunkett became a go-to bowler for England in limited-overs cricket. 

His ability to swing the long handle brought him into Eoin Morgan’s master plan of making England a limited-over dominator. Plunkett was the key member of the squad that went to the knockouts of the 2016 World T20 and the Champions Trophy in 2017. 

The silverware moment in Plunkett’s career came during the World Cup of 2019 where he became the third oldest pacer to wear the winning medal, after Glenn McGrath and Imran Khan. He was selected over David Willey and Chris Jordan to play a huge role in England’s title-winning campaign where he bagged 11 wickets during the tournament. 

Post the World Cup, Plunkett has lost his place in both ODI and T20I setup. The English think-tank took strict action on the tricenarian pacer who thinks he still has playing days left in him. 

The tricenarian has provided his services in various franchise leagues across the globe. Over the years, Plunkett has played IPL, BBL, PSL, T20 Blast, and BPL in his illustrious career. The latest league to the long-longing list is going to the Hundred as Welsh Fire picked the Yorkshire-born in the squad. Plunkett would be willing to share his experience with the upcoming young guns in the competition before he finally hangs his boots up.

(As of April 2021)