Nicky Boje
A canny slow-left arm bowler and more than useful lower-order batsman, Nicky Boje made his second foray into county cricket when he joined Northamptonshire in 2007.
He was retained on a two-year Kolpak deal at the end of the season after averaging 41.25 with the bat and taking 16 wickets in four LV= County Championship matches.
Northants then selected him to lead their side during the 2008 season, and almost led the county to championship promotion the following year.
When his first stint in England began - with Nottinghamshire in 2002 - his Test bowling average was under 30, but he could not maintain that level as his career progressed.
When he announced his international retirement in 2006, that mark had risen above 40, though an eight-wicket haul against New Zealand in 2003-4 suggested it was a figure that did not do him justice.
Boje enjoyed playing against New Zealand - he hit two one-day centuries against the Black Caps, with his best score an impressive 129.
Anyone who saw that innings would not have been surprised to hear that Boje was an opening batsman as a youngster and could well have claimed a Test century had he not often been as low down the order as nine.
Boje's fine form with the bat continued in the early half of the 2008 season as skipper. His international career was over by then, given his associations with the rebel Indian Cricket League.
He struck an unbeaten 228 at number three against Worcestershire to salvage a draw for his side. That came a week after his 105 against eventual Division Two champions Warwickshire. But the county did not win a game in any competition from July.
Boje was a whisker away from leading Northants to a long-awaited promotion in 2009, when Essex’s last-day run chase at Derby saw them pip Northants by a single point.
Boje’s batting was solid, and even if his bowling was not used as much as in the past, his calm leadership was a crucial asset in leading the Steelbacks to their first Twenty20 Cup finals day.
He committed to a final year at Northants for 2010.
