Chris Wood

A left-arm pacer with injury concerns at Hampshire - heard that before? Yes. Chris Wood has a very similar career graph to Reece Topley. However, unlike Topley, Wood has featured in Hampshire's winning sides. He was part of the 2010 T20 success and also played a major role in the 2012 - when they won the T20 and the Clydesdale Bank 40.

Woody as he is known at Hampshire has come through their youth system and started his career playing the shorter formats of the game. In 2010, injury to regular squad members gave Wood his first taste of T20 cricket and was soon playing List A cricket. During that season, Wood was the highest wicket-taker for Hampshire in the One-Day format and his 20 wickets in T20s was the second best ever for Hampshire. He played a vital role in the team's success that year and in the years to come. In fact, since making his debut for Hampshire, Wood has been part of five Finals Day.

The next year saw Wood cementing his place in the four-day side because of his performances in the shorter forms - he was the leading wicket-taker in the One-Day competition and soon becoming the leading man of Hampshire's bowling attack.

Wood is also a handy lower-order batsman and Leicestershire were a witness to that as he scored his maiden first-class hundred against them in 2012. Though Hampshire lost that game, Wood's stakes only grew higher. If his reputation had not skyrocketed by now it was soon to be as he held his nerve in both the One-Day and T20 final - defending targets in the last over and taking Hampshire over the line.

Injuries hit Wood during the 2013 season and followed him into the next season. He, however, fought back and returned towards the end of the 2014 campaign, claiming 15 wickets in four Championship games. Another good year in white-ball cricket followed in 2015 as Wood topped Hampshire's T20 averages while also picking up 10 wickets in the One-Day format. He had also signed a two-year contract extension before the start of the season.

A persistent knee injury which had taken its toll on Wood before reappeared in 2016 and he had to undergo surgery after a game against Middlesex at the start of the season. That eventually ruled him out for the rest of the year.

Hampshire's Strength and Conditioning coach, Nick Karamouzis, helped Wood recover from the knee surgery. After performing for the Second XI, Wood was back soon in the first team and played a key role in Hampshire reaching yet another Finals Day.

By Akshay Maanay