Greatest New Zealand Test XI of all time

Wicket-keeper and all-rounders

Chris Cairns

After Sir Richard Hadlee, Chris Cairns was perhaps one of New Zealand’s most celebrated allrounders. On his day, he could run through the opposition’s batting line-up with his bowling and he could also counter-attack and take the game away from the opposition.

In 62 Tests, he amassed 3320 runs at an average of 33.53 and also picked up 218 wickets at an average of 29.40. He was only the second New Zealand player (and 6th overall) to achieve the double (3000 runs and 200 wickets).

Brendon McCullum (Wicket-keeper)

Even though he gave up the wicket-keeping gloves in the later stages of his career, Brendon McCullum is undoubtedly one of the best New Zealand wicket-keepers of all time. He was acrobatic, agile and brilliant behind the stumps.

With the bat, McCullum was brutal. He took the game away from the opposition with ease and his attacking instincts more often than not helped the Kiwis in setting up a big score. Also, he was a player who could bat anywhere in the batting order and still score runs. In his farewell Test, he smashed the fastest Test century (in 54 balls) against Australia at Christchurch.

He also became the first player to play 101 consecutive Test matches (from the debut). He scored 6453 runs (in 101 games) at an average of 38.64 and also hit 12 hundreds. He is also the only Kiwi batsman who has scored a triple century (302) in Test cricket.

Sir Richard Hadlee

Sir Richard Hadlee was probably the star of New Zealand’s line-up for almost 17 years. He always stood up when the going was tough (with both bat and ball). He is New Zealand’s best fast bowler, best allrounder and probably one of the best allrounders world cricket has ever seen.

Sir Richard Hadlee made his debut in 1973 and had a few sedate years. But once he adjusted to the demands of international cricket he made the world sit up and take notice of him. In his 17-year career, he played 86 Tests. He amassed 3124 runs (at 27.17) and took 431 wickets (at 22.3) in his Test career. When he retired, he was the leading wicket-taker in Tests until Kapil Dev overhauled his tally.

Also, an all-time New Zealand XI is incomplete with Sir Hadlee.