A classy right-hander whose composed start to his Test career prompted comparisons with Viv Richards. When Samuels flew into Australia for the third Test of the 2000-01 series, he was only 19 and had yet to represent his native Jamaica in a first-class match.
But he showed a beautifully balanced technique, standing completely still at the crease and moving smoothly into his strokes off either foot. His undistinguished offspin also claimed a couple of wickets.
Samuels exudes a bull-headed confidence - he used to skip his schoolwork on the basis that exams were irrelevant to future Test cricketers. That confidence/arrogance almost got him sent home from India late in 2002, after he defied a team curfew - but he was kept on, and responded with his a disciplined maiden Test century, at Kolkata. But he struggled with both form and injury, and was dropped after two poor home Tests against Sri Lanka in 2003.