Neil Carter

BORN: 29/01/75, Cape Town, South Africa

ROLE: Left-arm medium-fast; Left-hand bat

BEST TWENTY20 PERFORMANCE: 5-19 v Worcestershire Royals at Edgbaston, 01/07/05

A name that should really need no introduction to Warwickshire’s fans, Carter is the sort of cricketer that the 20-over format might have been invented for. The 35-year-old has been in electric form so far this season, smashing his way to 377 runs and claiming 24 wickets in first-class cricket at the time of writing, and is capable of destroying the best attacks on his day. Usually charged with getting the Bears' innings off to a flying start, he loves to punish anything short by pulling it away over midwicket. However, his destructive strokeplay often obscures the fact that he is a highly effective swing bowler who has 61 Twenty20 scalps to his name, and he will be relied upon to pick up early wickets with the new ball and put the opposition’s batting line-up under pressure. Simply put, if Carter – an impact player in every sense of the term – has a good game then Warwickshire will be a long way towards claiming victory.