One of the most loved cricketing countries in the world, New Zealand has had many talented cricket players play the sport at the highest level, especially in the purest form of the sport, Test cricket. Here’s a look at the names of the players who are a part of the all-time best New Zealand Test XI.
Openers (Glenn Turner, John Wright)
Personifying the spirit of New Zealand cricket in the truest sense, Glenn Turner and John Wright were the types of batsmen who could not only take on the bowlers of any team in the world and score mountains of runs and at the same time maintain the elegance and calm that the Kiwi players are known for.
Glenn Turner, in the 41 Test matches that he played for New Zealand, scored 2,991 runs in total, while maintaining an excellent average of 44.64. And his batting partner in this all-time best New Zealand Test XI, John Wright in his playing days played in 82 matches and scored 5,334 runs in total.
Middle Order (Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Stephen Fleming, Brendon McCullum)
Consisting of four of the best batsmen to have played the sport of cricket, Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, and Stephen Fleming are the ones constituting the middle order of this all-time best New Zealand Test XI. Many of these players did play together in the New Zealand Test team together and when they did, they would send chills down the spines of the bowlers who were bowling to them.
Kane Williamson, one of the only two active players of the lot has played in 83 Tests so far and has scored 7,115 runs in his account along with the various other records that he holds. Ross Taylor, Stephen Fleming, and Brendon McCullum are not far behind Williamson either. Taylor has played in 105 matches so far and has scored 7,380 runs while maintaining an average of 45.28.
Stephen Fleming in his playing days had played in 111 matches and scored 7,152 runs and Brendon McCullum, while with the New Zealand cricket team, came in with a bang and left with one. He was a part of the New Zealand team in 101 matches where he managed to score 6,453 runs including 12 centuries, 4 double hundreds, and 31 fifties.
All Rounders (Daniel Vettori, Sir Richard Hadlee, Chris Cairns)
The trio of Daniel Vettori, Sir Richard Hadlee, and Chris Cairns, all of whom are excellent players in their own class are the players making up the middle order of this all-time best New Zealand Test XI. With records that could put many all-rounders’ stats to shame, all three of these players are undoubtedly the greatest to have played the game of cricket.
Either with the bat or the ball in hand, all three of these players could win matches for their team single-handedly. In Tests, Vettori had played 113 matches, where had 4,531 runs to his name and 362 wickets.
Sir Hadlee was a part of the New Zealand squad on 86 games where he managed to score 3,124 runs and had taken 431 wickets and Chris Cairns also had an outstanding record both as a batsman and a bowler. He played in 62 games and scored 3,320 runs and managed to send 218 batsmen back to the pavilion.
Bowlers (Trent Boult, Shane Bond)
With the pace that could tear through the stumps, shattering them in pieces and precision that is only found these days in the archers and shooters of the world, both Trent Boult and Shane Bond are the perfect candidates to formulate this section of the team that can be labelled as the all-time best New Zealand Test XI.
The records of these players speak for themselves. Boult, having played in 71 matches has taken 281 wickets so far, which includes 1 10-wicket haul and a total of 8 5-wicket hauls. Along with this, he has also managed to contribute 668 runs with the bat in hand.
Shane Bond, who has now called it a day on his international cricketing career, has played in 18 Test matches, but his impact in those games was enough to put anyone in awe. He had 87 wickets to his name and this was inclusive of his 1 10-wicket haul and as many as 5 5-wicket hauls.
