Associates' fight, who to succeed?

William Porterfield

While others - the likes of Morgan and Joyce and Rankin - have flirted with England, William Porterfield has remained an almost ever-present figure in Ireland's rise in international cricket. His country's top run-scorer in both ODI and T20I cricket, he could yet become Ireland's first Test captain.

Playing role: Opening batsman

Batting style: Left-hand bat

Bowling style: Right-arm offbreak

ODIs played 74

Runs: 2160

Top Score: 112*

Average: 30.85

Strike Rate: 66.76

Samiullah Shenwari

Samiullah Shenwari plays the game with the energy typical of a 21st century cricketer. With a bouncing, high-kneed approach to the crease and a bagful of variations, his initial value to Afghanistan was as an enterprising legspinner but his batting has become increasingly useful. He pays precious little regard to the textbook, but Shenwari's good eye means that when he hacks violently at the ball, more often than not he connects and he's crept up from Afghanistan's lower order into their middle. He's also a capable fielder, and is often stationed at point. Shenwari helped to engineer Afghanistan's historic win over Bangladesh at the Asia Cup in March 2014, sharing in a 164-run stand with Asghar Stanikzai and then picking up the vital wicket of Mominul Haque. He has been part of all of Afghanistan's World T20 campaigns, and was shortlisted for the prize of ICC Associate and Affiliate player of the year in 2014. He was an automatic pick for the team that travelled to the 2015 World Cup.

Playing Role: Middle-order Batsman

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Legbreak

ODIs: 46

Runs: 1098

Top Score: 82*

Average: 36.60

Strike Rate: 70.02