Bruce Reid was a tall, gangling left-arm pace bowler who made his debut alongside Merv Hughes and Geoff Marsh in 1985-86, when Australia were at a low ebb. Able to straighten the ball into the right-hander as well as slant it away, and with naturally steep bounce, Reid immediately became Australia's mainstay. His crowning achievement was to take 13 wickets against England at Melbourne in 1990, and 12 against India a year later at the same venue.

But his slight frame could not stand up to the rigours of fast bowling. In December 1987, at 24, he was forced off the field against New Zealand in Adelaide with the first of many recurring back injuries. Despite painstaking rehabilitation programmes and several comebacks, Reid would play just 12 more Tests, bowing out at the age of 29 in 1992. His record, though brief, remains impressive - in 27 Tests he took 113 wickets at 24.63 with a strike rate of 55.20.