Top 10 New Zealand cricketers of all time

#2. Daniel Vettori

Daniel Vettori is the greatest spinner New Zealand ever had

One of the greatest all-rounders this sport has ever seen, Daniel Vettori has sure established himself amongst the sport’s all-time greats during his 18-year long international career which he began in 1997. Known for his slow left-arm spin, Vettori was a nightmare for even the mightiest of batsmen.

Dan took 362 Test wickets from 112 Tests including 20 five-wicket hauls which is the second most for a New Zealand bowler and a left-arm spinner. In ODIs, Vettori is New Zealand’s leading wicket-taker and has more wickets than any left-arm spinner with 305 wickets from 295 matches that includes two five-wicket hauls with a spell of 5/7 against Bangladesh being his best bowling figures.

Vettori was a pretty useful batsman as well who could come up with crucial runs in the middle and lower order. The former RCB and DD player is the 8th highest run-scorer for New Zealand in Test cricket with 4523 runs at an average of 30.15, scoring 23 fifties and 6 hundreds. Vettori is amongst only eight players who have attained the feat of scoring more than 3000 runs and taking more than 300 wickets in Test cricket.

He is also amongst only three players who have scored more than 4000 runs and have taken more than 300 wickets in Tests, the other two being Kapil Dev and Sir Ian Botham.

In ODIs, Vettori scored 2253 runs that included just four fifties with 83 against Australia at Christchurch being his highest ODI score. The left-armer led New Zealand from 2007-2011 where he helped them to the semi-finals of the 2007 ICC World T20 and the 2011 World Cup (which was totally unexpected). Vettori will always be remembered as one of the best New Zealand cricketers ever.

#1. Sir Richard Hadlee

Sir Richard Hadlee is undoubtedly the greatest cricketer New Zealand ever produced

One of the greatest bowlers and all-rounders to have ever graced a cricket pitch, Richard Hadlee accomplished a lot throughout his glittering 17-year old career. Hadlee’s bowling was initially known for its extreme pace which made him one of the most lethal fast bowlers of his time. However, he later focused on maintaining accurate line and length rather than immense speed and he was still a batsman’s nightmare.

In 86 Tests, Hadlee took 431 wickets, the highest at the time with 36 five-wicket hauls, the most by any fast-bowler and the third most overall. A monumental spell of 9/52 against Australia at Brisbane in 1985 is Hadlee’s best bowling figures in Tests which is also 6th amongst best spells in Test cricket history.

In ODIs, Paddles took 158 wickets including 5 five-fors with 5/25 against Sri Lanka at the 1983 World Cup being his best spell in ODIs. Hadlee ended his cricketing career on a massive high by taking a five-wicket haul in his final match, a Test against England at Edgbaston where he also took a wicket off his final delivery.

Sir Richard was a pretty aggressive lower middle-order batsmen who more than often took New Zealand to competitive totals with his brilliant batting. In Tests, Hadlee scored 3124 runs that comprises of 15 fifties and two centuries with an unbeaten 151 against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1987 being his highest Test score.

In ODIs, Hadlee scored 1751 runs that included four fifties with a 64-ball 79 against England at Adelaide in 1983 being his best score in ODIs. Hadlee had a pretty impressive strike-rate of 75.50 which at that time was the same as having a strike rate of 110-120 at present.

Truly, one of the greatest cricketers of all-time and New Zealand’s greatest cricketer ever.