Wisden overview
First picked for Australia at 18, Craig McDermott lost his way in a then dissolute dressing-room, and was later dogged by a freak series of injuries, including a twisted bowel and a broken ankle. Yet he fought back repeatedly to become Australia's leading wicket-taker for a time. McDermott was not as fiery as his red hair suggested, nor did he capture the public imagination in the manner of Dennis Lillee or Shane Warne, but he was a textbook outswing bowler with a classic side-on action who could run through any batting order on his day. He was also a thumping batsman in his youth. His role in Australia's renaissance has been underestimated. Greg Baum

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