Hilton Cartwright

A batting all-rounder, Hilton Cartwright, born in Harare, Zimbabwe, reaped the benefits from consistent performances in Australia's premier domestic competition - Sheffield Shield. Having emigrated from Zimbabwe at the age of 11 after the family tobacco farm was occupied, the Cartwrights made Perth their second home and it was in Australia that Hilton's cricket education began on an earnest.

The hard-hitting all-rounder graduated from the Under-17 age group level, where he represented Western Australia, during the 2008-09 season and was subsequently selected to play in the Under-23 squad in Australia's second tier competition, Futures League. Cartwright showed immense promise with the bat and was more than useful with the ball - factors which led to his first-class debut for Western Australia in 2013-14.

A very gritty customer at the crease, Cartwright's breakthrough season came in 2016-16 when he shone in the Matador Cup and had a strong Sheffield Season to boot. The consistency meant he was called-up for the Australian 50-over squad against the visiting New Zealand, in 2016. He didn't get to play in any match, but the experience was valuable and he was called-up to make his Test debut against Pakistan in the same summer.

Cartwright then got a game in the Test series in Bangladesh but couldn't produce an innings of substance. His batting ability coupled with the utility medium pace meant that he had a strong case to be Australia's number six in Tests, given the country's favoritism towards all-rounders. However, a loss of form in the Sheffield Shield season meant that he was overlooked for the all-important Ashes series with Australia opting for the specialist batsman in Shaun Marsh.

Cartwright did make his ODI debut during the tour of India in late 2017 but got just a solitary game where he struggled to get going. While Cartwright toiled away in the domestic circuit, performances that caught the selectors' eyes didn't come often enough. Middling returns and the emergence of Cameron Green, someone that plies the same trade as him but much younger, meant that Cartwright failed to break into the Australian side again. In the BBL, Cartwright moved from the Scorchers to the Melbourne Stars in 2019/20. He played for the Oval Invicibles in the 2022 edition of The Hundred.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan