Top 5 New Zealand captains of all time

Since their entry into the international arena in 1930, New Zealand have remarkably had only 35 captains until now across all the three formats. More than 700 of their 1247 international matches thus far can be attributed to just five captains. The numbers indicate that the Blackcaps usually prefer stability on the leadership front.

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In order of merit, here are five of the best captains who have led New Zealand with impeccable grace and palpable grit. Notable performances with the team across all formats as well as earnest efforts towards attenuating the side's strengths have been accorded greater importance whilst selecting these stellar leaders.

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#5 Daniel Vettori

Daniel Vettori led his troops by setting a splendid example with both bat and ball

Upon taking over the captaincy mantle from the long-serving Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori had to contend with a gruelling transition phase which threatened to put New Zealand to the sword. However, he led by example and made contributions with the bat as well as the ball to shore up his team's fortunes.

Tactically, he was not the smartest captain of his time. But his impeccable work ethic and unswerving dedication to the game went a long way in getting the best out of a decent bunch of players. Even as his batting kept improving constantly, Vettori was also able to sustain his prowess with the ball despite having to shoulder the burden of captaincy.

He will fondly remember the resounding 189-run victory against England at Hamilton in the 2008 series and the thrilling 32-run triumph against the visiting Pakistani team at Dunedin in the subsequent season.

Captaincy Record

Tests - 6 wins and 16 losses from 32 matches

ODIs - 41 wins and 33 losses from 82 matches

T20Is - 13 wins and 13 losses from 28 matches

#4 Martin Crowe

Martin Crowe was renowned for making quite a few innovative decisions

Even though his erstwhile teammate Jeremy Coney might seem to have a better captaincy resume than him, Martin Crowe's contribution to New Zealand cricket as a leader cannot be gleaned from mere numbers. During the latter part of 80s and early phase of 90s, there were not many better readers of the game than the batting maestro from Auckland.

Armed with the capacity to think out of the box, Crowe did not shy away from making bold decisions and calculated gambles. Be it sending Mark Greatbach up the batting order to facilitate rapid starts or opening the bowling with off-spinner Dipak Patel, he broke stereotypes associated with ODI cricket and established unforeseen trends through his audacious captaincy.

New Zealand dearly missed his sharp acumen during the 1992 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan. After scoring an 83-ball 91, Crowe did not take the field due to a hamstring injury and subsequently found himself regretting the missed opportunity.

Captaincy Record

Tests - 2 wins and 7 losses from 16 matches

ODIs - 21 wins and 24 losses from 44 matches

#3 Geoff Howarth

Geoff Howarth during an on-field discussion with Jeremy Coney regarding field placement

At a time when New Zealand cricket was still seeking to establish its identity, Geoff Howarth was the ideal candidate for the job. After spending his formative years in the shadows of his elder brother Hedley (who played 30 Tests), he rapidly rose in stature to become one of shrewdest captains of his generation.

Even as plenty more men have arrived and left, the compact right-hander continues to possess the best win-loss ratio among all captains in New Zealand Test history if a minimum criterion of 10 matches is set in order to formulate a meaningful sample size. The best moment of Geoff Howarth's captaincy career was the 1980 Test series victory against an intimidating West Indies team that would embark on an unbeaten run for more than 15 years.

Captaincy Record

Tests - 11 wins and 7 losses from 30 matches

ODIs - 31 wins and 26 losses from 60 matches

#2 Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum remains the only captain to lead New Zealand to a World Cup final

There are captains who remain content with just setting fields and ushering in bowling changes. Then there are true leaders who have the intrinsic ability to lift the team with their mere presence. Brendon McCullum belonged to the latter category. More of a statesman than just a skipper, he sparked a revolution in New Zealand cricket with his refreshingly attacking approach to the game.

Not the one to care about records, McCullum played the game because he was a natural sportsman. Although his belligerent batting could end in a kamikaze manner on certain occasions, the dynamic player changed the face of New Zealand of cricket by liberating the players from the general convention. Apart from leading his country to a maiden appearance in the final of a World Cup, McCullum also created a resilient Test team that held its own on different types of pitches.

Captaincy Record

Tests - 11 wins and 11 losses from 31 matches

ODIs - 36 wins and 22 losses from 62 matches

T20Is - 13 wins and 14 losses from 28 matches

#1 Stephen Fleming

Stephen Fleming captained New Zealand in a whopping 303 matches across all formats

When he was handed the captaincy at 24, not many would have expected Stephen Fleming to spend ten years and 303 matches at the helm of affairs. With an enviable sense of self-assurance to go alongside an adept intellect, the opener oversaw the transformation of a hopeful bunch of players into a singular entity which consistently punched above its weight in both Tests and ODIs.

Fleming remains the only New Zealand captain to lift an ICC Trophy. If the triumphant campaign in the 2000 ICC Knockout tournament was a testament of his ability to inject self-belief into his troops, the left-hander's meticulous planning and canny execution resulted in the growth of a solid Test team filled with steadfast cricketers. He scored more than 15,000 runs across all formats in international cricket. But Fleming's enduring legacy will always surround his remarkable leadership qualities.

Captaincy Record

Tests - 28 wins and 27 losses from 80 matches

ODIs - 98 wins and 106 losses from 218 matches

T20Is - 2 wins and 2 losses from 5 matches