Greatest New Zealand ODI XI of all time

#3 All-rounders

Chris Cairns could change the momentum of the game with both bat and ball

When he made his ODI debut against India in 1999, Scott Styris batted as lowly as number nine. It is a testament to his perseverance that he finished his career as a reliable lower middle-order batsman. From 188 ODIs, the right-hander scored 4483 runs at an average of 32.48 and strike-rate of 79.41 with four centuries. Apart from an ability to adapt his batting to suit different situations, he was also quite handy with the ball. A nagging variety of medium pace fetched him 137 scalps at an economy-rate of 4.74.

New Zealand have been blessed with quite a few world-class all-rounders in their ranks over the years. With his attacking stroke-play and sharp bowling, Chris Cairns was among their finest ever. His unbeaten century against India in the 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy (later renamed as Champions Trophy) singlehandedly propelled the Blackcaps to rare tournament glory. He played 215 ODIs and scored 4950 runs at a stellar strike-rate of 84.26 with four centuries. The all-rounder also picked 201 wickets at an economy-rate of 4.84.