Donovan Pagon made his Test debut in inauspicious circumstances, called into the West Indian middle order for the first Test against South Africa in 2004-05, after seven leading players - including Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle - had been caught up in the midst of a bitter sponsorship row. Boasting a career average in the low-30s, Pagon was not exactly burdened with expectations, but he surpassed them nonetheless with a common-sense 35 on debut. In that innings, he stood tall and still at the crease, with a keen awareness of his off-stump and a polished ability to dispatch the bad ball, and had the makings of a silver lining as a dark cloud hung over West Indian cricket. A tendency to get stuck on his crease, however, threatened his prospects of a long-term international future. Andrew Miller April 2005

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