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Veteran New Zealand opening batter Martin Guptill will have his career celebrated when the Auckland Aces take on Wellington Firebirds on January 4th at the Eden Park Outer Oval. Named the day as 'Thank You Gup,' the venue will honour the right-hander's glorious contribution to both New Zealand and Auckland cricket.
Guptill, who made his international debut in 2009, established himself as the limited-overs specialist. With 7,346 runs in 198 ODIs, he is the only Kiwi player to smash a double-hundred in the format. Moreover, the veteran is the third-highest run-getter in this format for the country. In 122 T20Is, Guptill amassed 3,531 runs.
As part of the occasion, the Eden Park Outer Oval will be transformed to 'Martin Guptill Oval' for the fixture. Also, Auckland's Men's Premier Club T20 competition will be renamed to Martin Guptill Cup from the 2024-25 edition.
Auckland Cricket CEO Iain Laxon issued a statement saying that the 37-year-old's illustrious career is similar to a highlights reel and urged every one of them to join in for the tribute. As quoted by ESPNcricinfo, he stated:
"Martin is without doubt one of our country's finest ever white-ball cricketers and we wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate and recognise what he has done for cricket. His career is one that feels at times like an ongoing highlights reel, there are so many moments where he has made hugely significant contributions at a domestic level for Auckland or on the international stage for New Zealand.
"Those efforts create memories for all of us and we want everyone to come along and join us in saying thanks to him for all those special moments."
The elegant opener last played for New Zealand in October 2022. In November 2022, he requested a release from the Black Caps' central contract after agreeing to feature for the Melbourne Renegades.
"It's like a family community here" - Martin Guptill
The Auckland native credited the junior teams for becoming the player he is today and recalled how special it was to win the Plunkett Shield two years ago.
Guptill recalled earlier this week:
"It's pretty special. I've been involved in the Auckland Cricket system for a number of years now, from the age-groups, U14s, U15s, U17s and U19s, to where I am today. A lot of thanks to Auckland Cricket. It's like a family community here and I've been lucky enough to be involved with it for a long time now. Winning the Plunket Shield two years ago and being there playing the game when the Shield was presented was pretty special."
Auckland Aces won their first game of the Super Smash 2023 against Canterbury by 27 runs. Guptill set the platform by slamming 47 off 29 balls to help the team post 185 on the board. In reply, Canterbury were all-out on 158.
