Nearly Men #s 6 and 7

In 1995 Alan Wells was a man on top of his game. He had played for Sussex for 14 years and was adored by the fans, seemingly every season being mentioned as a possible England call-up, and seemingly every season just not quite doing enough. I reckon he'd have been a hero, had he played long enough. He was a dashing thumper of medium pacers, with something of Graham Gooch about his uncomplicated technique. The straight, full ball wasn't a potential wicket-taking delivery: it was in the slot and prone to going back over the bowler's head. Had he got in the team, his Herculean folds of hair would probably have meant he had the housewives' favourite role sewn up. He was the old head captain of the successful England A Tour to India, where the team remained unbeaten. 

Finally, with England wishing to strengthen their batting, he got his call up at number 6 for the final Test of the series against the West Indies. This was something of a tradition of the time - a one-off chance for someone to prove themselves, and then get on the plane for the Winter tour.

Do you think people might struggle to perform under that pressure? 14 years of graft, of consistency, of making the right noises when asked about his England prospects, and it all came down to one chance (it was a flat pitch - England barely had a second innings) I remember sitting around and watching this, rooting for him, thinking about how nervous he must have felt, and Curtley Ambrose raced in.....and this happened.

Thing is, a good score might not have done him any good at that time. In 1994 Joey Benjamin played the last Test of the Summer, taking 4-45 against South Africa (a performance much overshadowed by Malcolm's 9-57 in the second innings, such that it's not to be found on YouTube). It got him a place on the plane to Australia, where despite numerous injuries, he carried drinks for the whole tour.