Rated as one of the finest leg-spinners in England at present, Matt Parkinson broke a record with his maiden five-wicket haul in domestic cricket, by being the youngest from his County Lancashire to do this feat. Since his inclusion, Matt has been a force to reckon with across formats. A wrist spinner is an asset for the shorter formats and he is a leggie who doesn’t shy away from attacking the batsmen in a bid to get wickets. With a smooth action and a deceptive googly, Matt has all the toys in his repertoire and more importantly, knows how and when to use them. The one pleasantly surprising factor about his bowling is his unerring accuracy – a trait not often associated with wrist spinners. It’s rare to see Matt
bowling a loose ball, let alone a loose over and it’s this consistency that’s enabled him to succeed in red-ball cricket as well. Initially, he seemed ready just for T20 cricket but the kind of progress Matt has shown sees him ripe for the other formats as well. England selectors seem to echo this feeling as the leg-spinner has got his maiden call up, for the New Zealand tour in late 2019 and he’s part of the Test and T20I squads. Matt has a twin brother Callum who is a left-arm spinner plying his trade for Leicestershire.

Written by Hariprasad Sadanandan