Muhammad Ghous

Born in Lahore, Muhammad Ghous moved to New Jersey at the age of 11 and didn't start playing leather-ball cricket until several years later, but developed rapidly.

Initially, Ghous was picked for USA Under-19 as a batsman after he was the top-scorer at the domestic Under-19 national championship in 2009. But at that summer's Under-19 World Cup Qualifier in Toronto, his offspin skills emerged in the form of a five-for against Afghanistan Under-19 and by the time the team arrived in New Zealand for the World Cup in January 2010, bowling had become his primary duty.

He was the first player from USA's 2010 Under-19 World Cup squad to make the transition into the USA senior team, making his debut at the age of 20 against Jamaica that May. Ghous hardly turns the ball but his stump-to-stump accuracy keeps opposition batsmen pinned down and his penchant for excelling in pressure situations immediately turned him into one of his side's go-to bowlers.

Following the departure of a host of senior players and the unavailability of several others, Ghous was named USA captain in 2015 for the ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 Championship, where they finished second to reach the World T20 Qualfiier in Ireland later that summer. A loss of form, though, resulted not only in his removal as captain but also in his axeing from the USA squad altogether by October 2016.

Peter Della Penna