Date of birth – 14 March 1991 Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire First Class Debut – 27 March 2011 v MCC (Abu Dhabi)
From the outside it may appear that Jake Ball has had a meteoric rise through the ranks and been ushered straight to the very top level of the game.
To make that supposition would be grossly unfair though, because it takes away how hard Ball has worked to elevate his game from that of promising county seamer to a much-vaunted international strike bowler.
A product of the Welbeck Colliery Cricket Club, he has followed his uncle, Bruce French, into the international arena, so it was apt that the ECB gave the former England wicketkeeper the honour of presenting his nephew with his cherished cap, when he made his Test debut in 2016.
Ball made his first-class debut in 2011 and had to be content with fleeting first team appearances until bursting his way into an automatic selection four years later.
Since then he has pushed his haul of red ball wickets up towards the 150 mark, as well as taking the first home hat-trick by a Nottinghamshire player since the turn of the century.
That performance came a couple of years ago as he ripped through the Middlesex order, leaving the champions-elect on 0-3 in the first over.
Ball’s performances that year propelled him into the thoughts of the England selectors and he made his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord’s and earned a spot on that winter’s tours of Bangladesh and India.
He took 5-51 and won the man-of-the-match award on his ODI debut against Bangladesh and has featured regularly for his country ever since.
Unfortunate injuries ruled him out of both of the Outlaws’ one-day finals at Lord’s in both 2013 and 2017 but he more than played his part in the T20 Blast success last season.