David Alleyne, now 30, spent five seasons as Middlesex�..s understudy keeper before leaving in 2004, with the sensible expectation of regular first-team cricket at Notts. But Chris Read fell out of favour with England, leaving Alleyne back in the 2nd XI. �..I think most people expected Chris to be England�..s wicketkeeper for
10 years,�.� Alleyne says. �..But he got dropped by England during the series in the West Indies, which was disappointing for him and frustrating for me.

�..Being a reserve wicketkeeper does test your professionalism. Motivation isn�..t a problem. It�..s a case of trying to maintain my own standards and scoring as many runs as I can to force my way into the first team as a batsman.�.�

Given a rare chance against Warwickshire, while Read was with England A, Alleyne hit a fifty and a maiden first-class century. But it was not enough to save the team from defeat or Alleyne from the chop. �..We�..ve had a pretty settled batting order for a couple of years so it�..s not been easy to break in,�.� he says. �..But I hope it will remind people what I�..m capable of.�.�
Paul Bolton, The Wisden Cricketer