New Zealand Cricket Hall of Fame

The NZC Hall of Fame is a joint venture between NZC, the New Zealand Cricket Players Association, and the New Zealand Cricket Museum which seeks to immortalise our greatest cricketers, to capture their achievements, tell their stories, and acknowledge the legacy they’ve created for those involved today.

Those inducted into the NZC Hall of Fame have been chosen on the basis of their performance for New Zealand at international level, their leadership, influence, and character, and their standing in the world game when at the peak of their powers. They are, by our definition, New Zealand’s finest players.

Hall of Fame Class of 2024 – “The First Eleven” 

Bert Sutcliffe

Bert Sutcliffe was the ultimate cricketing hero of countless New Zealand youngsters (and just as many not so young enthusiasts) during his long career from the 1940s to the 1960s.

New Zealand cricket had never before seen such a player. Hundreds? Yes, of course. Double hundreds? Plenty of those and triple hundreds as well, but not just any old triple century. Big triple centuries such as 355 for Otago in 1949/50 and 385 (out of of Otago’s 500 all out) three years later. Until the advent of Brian Lara, this was the highest score by a left-hander in first-class cricket.

Sutcliffe was already a cricketing phenomenon when New Zealand embarked on the 1949 tour to England. Would he fare as well overseas? The emphatic answer to that question was that he went on to total 2,627 first-class runs, second only to Sir Donald Bradman for the record of most runs by a visiting player on a tour of England.

When runs flowed from Sutcliffe’s bat, it was hard to imagine that he could ever play anything resembling an ugly or mistimed shot. His superb stroke play meant that not only was he a prolific rungetter but he could score quickly with orthodox, perfectly placed and executed shots.

Sutcliffe was a central figure in cricket’s most dramatic day at Ellis Park on Boxing Day 1953. Pictures of him batting, his head swathed in bandages, are part of New Zealand sport folklore. His innings of 80 not out that day included as many as seven sixes.

As seemed inevitable, Sutcliffe eventually registered New Zealand’s highest score in test cricket when he made an unbeaten 230 against India at Delhi in 1955. Given that New Zealand had declared with only two wickets down, there was some speculation as to what Sutcliffe could have made had he batted on.

At the end of the 1965 season, New Zealand embarked on an extremely arduous tour of India, Pakistan and England, the first seven games all test matches on the subcontinent. Sutcliffe, by now retired from international cricket, was asked to make himself available to assist a team which included several young players with little, or even no first-class experience.

As if he’d never been away, and six years after his last test match, Sutcliffe scored 56 at Madras in his first innings followed by a brilliant 151 not out at Calcutta.

Sutcliffe’s first-class record of 17,447 runs at 47 with 44 centuries, without having played any county cricket, is a formidable one. He averaged 40 in 42 test matches but this figure should be measured against the fact that not once in his test career, which spanned almost 20 years, did he have the good fortune to be on the winning side.

When talking about Sutcliffe, his brilliance in the field should not be overloooked. Always supremely fit, he was in his element whether at short leg, in the slips or at cover.

It was said of Bert Sutcliffe that he never had a bad word to say about anyone and no one ever had a bad word to say about him.

John Reid

The term “colossus” is often used but never more aptly than to describe John Reid’s standing in New Zealand cricket. When he retired he held the New Zealand test records for most matches, most matches as captain, most runs, most wickets and most catches (and also stood in as wicketkeeper). His 58 tests in succession was a world record at the time. Reid never missed a test over his 16 year career.

Reid was an aggressive, hard-hitting middle-order batsman who was unafraid to hit the ball in the air. He was also a brilliant fielder at gully or cover and a pacy seam bowler, who later in his career turned to highly effective off-cutters.

He made his test debut at Old Trafford in 1949, scoring 50 and 25, and took over as captain when New Zealand faced West Indies in 1955/56. The fourth test at Eden Park will forever be remembered for New Zealand gaining their first victory in test cricket. Inevitably Reid played his part, top scoring with 84 in the first innings.

The tour to South Africa in 1961/62 was the pinnacle of Reid’s career and a major success for New Zealand who, up till then, had won just one test match and none overseas. New Zealand drew the series 2-2 with Reid contributing 546 runs at 60 and proving a match-winner with the ball. In all first-class games he made 1915 runs at 68.

New Zealand won the fifth test by 40 runs to level the series, an historic moment in New Zealand cricket. Reid was again to the fore. His figures were 45-27-44-4 (his victims being all top-order batsmen). Far from fully fit, he had bowled his off-cutters but on others days he was a fast-medium bowler with a feared bouncer.

One of Reid’s most famous innings was 296 against Northern Districts at the Basin Reserve in 1962/63. Reid’s innings took just 220 minutes and included 35 fours as well as a world record (at the time) 15 sixes. In his previous match, he had returned the figures of 30-14-29-7 against Auckland.

At the end of the 1964/65 season, New Zealand embarked on an arduous tour to India, Pakistan and England. Reid marked his 50th successive test with four sixes in his first ten balls in a memorable 82 against India at Calcutta. Reid’s last test was against England at Leeds when he made 54 in the first innings.

The only other New Zealand player of uncontested world standing during Reid’s era was Bert Sutcliffe, and in 58 tests, 34 of which he was captain, Reid often felt as if he was propping up the side. “It was hard work, you had a lot of responsibility,” he said. “You knew jolly well that if you didn’t get runs then nobody else would.”

Jackie Lord

Lord made her New Zealand debut on the 1966 tour to England aged 18, having taken 22 wickets in her first season of domestic cricket in New Zealand. She played in all three tests on that tour and in all three when England came to New Zealand in 1968/69.

She was a member of the side which gained New Zealand’s historic first test win, against Australia at Melbourne in 1972, and was instrumental in New Zealand’s win in South Africa in the tour which followed. South Africa needed 278 to win the second test but were bowled out for just 89, with Lord taking 5-24 from 23.2 overs. This was enough to give New Zealand their only series win in test cricket.

Lord also excelled when New Zealand toured Australia in 1978/79. She twice captured five wickets in an innings and took ten wickets in the match in the third test at Melburne.

Lord’s 55 wickets in test matches is 20 more than the next best for New Zealand. She captured five or more wickets in an innings on four occasions, no one else has done it more than once, and is the only bowler to take ten wickets in a test for New Zealand.

Lord was also effective in the one-day game. She was a member of the New Zealand side in England in 1973, which took part in cricket’s first World Cup, and also part of the squad for the 1981/82 tournament, which was played in New Zealand. On this occasion, Lord took 22 wickets at 12.40, including a New Zealand record of 6-10 (from eight overs) against India.

In a first-class career in New Zealand which went from 1965 to 1981, Lord played 95 matches and captured 451 wickets. She took five or more wickets in an innings 35 times and ten wickets in a match eight times. Her domestic cricket was played for North Shore (150 wickets), Canterbury (92) and Wellington (109). In all first-class games for New Zealand, Lord took exactly 100 wickets at 15.84.

Lord later moved to Australia where she played for Victoria. She showed that she had lost none of her wicket-taking ability, capturing 44 wickets in eight first-class games.

Trish McKelvey

Trish McKelvey played in 15 test matches and 15 one-day internationals for New Zealand and was captain in every one of them. She captained New Zealand to both its first test win (against Australia) and its first test series win (against South Africa).

Having captained Wellington in the previous domestic season, McKelvey was not only selected for New Zealand’s tour of England in 1966 (her White Ferns debut), but was also made captain. She and New Zealand were up against a powerful England line-up, led by Rachael Heyhoe, but the new skipper left undefeated in the tests with all three games ending in draws.

New Zealand’s next test series was at home against the same opposition in 1968/69. In the first test at the Basin Reserve, McKelvey became New Zealand’s first women’s test centurion when she made 155 not out. On the first day, she came in to bat at 17-1 and was still unbeaten when the innings ended on the second day for 302.

There was more history in the making for McKelvey when New Zealand met Australia at Melbourne early in 1972. New Zealand were routed for 89 on the first day and Australia, already firm favourites, were 109-2 at the close and a home side victory seemed assured.

However, McKelvey steeled her team and New Zealand fought back so well that they eventually won by 143 runs. This was the White Ferns first win in test cricket.

New Zealand then travelled to South Africa where more history beckoned. McKelvey made an unbeten 117 in a drawn first test and, with Jackie Lord in fine form, New Zealand won the second. The third test was drawn to give the White Ferns their first test series win.

The first cricket World Cup was staged in England in 1973. Trish McKelvey played, but not for New Zealand – her one-day career started as a member of the International XI. McKelvey’s New Zealand debut came in the World Cup in India in 1977/78 and her last outing at international level was the World Cup held in New Zealand in 1981/82.

McKelvey’s 116 first-class games (74 for Wellington) spanned 21 seasons. When she retired McKelvey coached, selected and managed New Zealand teams. In 1992 she became the first woman board member of New Zealand Cricket. She also represented New Zealand Cricket at the International Cricket Council and sat on various subcommittees.

Glenn Turner

Glenn Turner was the slightly built youth batting in Otago’s middle order in the mid-1960s. It was mentioned at the time that he had a good defensive technique. A very, very good defensive technique, in fact.

By the time his career ended in the early 1980s, Glenn Turner was also the opening bat who could play every shot on demand and score as fast as anyone when necessary. He even had his own trade mark chip shot over the infield which, on one occasion at least, brought him six twos in an over.

Turner’s name was synonymous with hundreds – 103 of them in first-class cricket to be precise. His one hundredth hundred was brought up in style when he became the first player in 33 years to score 300 runs in a single day in England. He was 311 not out when Worcestershire declared at 501–1 against Warwickshire. Billy Ibadulla, his long-time mentor, famously brought out a gin and tonic for Turner to celebrate the occasion.

To sum up, Turner played a staggering 455 first-class matches, amassing 34,346 runs at 49.70. Four of his hundreds were double centuries In West Indies in 1972 (two in the test series) when New Zealand, who had been expected to be hopelessly outplayed, managed to draw each of the five test matches, competed on level terms with their hosts and came within a dropped catch or two at Bridgetown of actually winning the series.

Turner had an unbeaten 223 in the first test (carrying his bat for the second time in test cricket) and, in a remarkable display of concentration and stamina, scored 259 twice in one week at Georgetown, batting for almost 22 hours in total.

He became the first New Zealander to score a century in each innings of a test match at Lancaster Park in 1974, when New Zealand beat Australia for the first time. Turner scored 101 and was unbeaten on 110 in the second innings when Ken Wadsworth hit the winning runs. In a match where the highest team total was just 259, no other New Zealand player was able to reach fifty.

In the first innings of the game, Turner was 99 not out overnight. He had also been on 99 overnight against Pakistan at Dhaka in 1969 on his way to scoring his first test century. The nervous-99s proving no problem for Glenn Turner on those occasions.

In 1973, Turner became the first player in 35 years to score 1000 first-class runs in England before the end of May, a feat only Sir Donald Bradman had previously achieved while playing for an overseas touring side.

Turner was no less adept at the one-day game, averaging 47 in one-day internationals and scoring more than 10,000 runs overall in the format. He was the first player to make a score of 150 in a one-day international.

Sir Richard Hadlee

When Richard Hadlee made his test debut at the Basin Reserve in 1973, New Zealand had won just seven test matches. By the time he played his last test at Edgbaston in 1990, as Sir Richard Hadlee, New Zealand had a further 22 test victories to its credit.

Hadlee (who played in all 22 of those games) took 173 wickets in the tests that New Zealand won, at the absurd average of 13.06. In those 22 wins, Hadlee took five or more wickets in an innings 17 times and ten or more wickets in the match on eight occasions. New Zealand had never had a match winner like Hadlee.

As the first player from any country to reach 400 test wickets, Hadlee was always assured of immortality, but in addition to his skills with the ball, he was also a hard-hitting batsman who revived and restored a New Zealand innings on more than one occasion. He averaged 30 with the bat in tests which New Zealand won.

Hadlee scored two test centuries and 14 hundreds overall in first-class cricket, with a highest of 210 not out. He never reached three figures in a New Zealand win but his 99 (off 81 balls) and eight wickets in the match in an innings victory against England at Christchurch in 1984 more than made up for this one small gap on his illustrious CV.

Hadlee, who originally had a fast bowler’s long run up (with a couple of distinctive shuffles as he began) famously shortened his approach to the crease in the early 1980s, in an effort to prolong his career. This caused no little controversy but Hadlee proved his doubters wrong. In 1985 for example, at the age of 34, he took 33 wickets in three tests in Australia – 9-52 & 6-71, 5-65 & 2-58, 5-65 & 6-90.

There was also a long career for Nottinghamshire (over 800 wickets in all games) and Hadlee had just celebrated his 39th birthday when he began his final test match. Almost inevitably, he took a five wicket bag in his last innings and captured a wicket with the last ball he bowled in a test match (it was also his final appearance in first-class cricket). In his 342 first-class games Hadlee took 1490 wickets at18.11.

In limited-over cricket, Hadlee was no less effective and became the first player to complete the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in one-day internationals.

Debbie Hockley

Debbie Hockley made her debut for Canterbury when she was just 15 years old and just over a year later was playing a test match against Australia at Melbourne. Her career for New Zealand eventually spanned 23 seasons, coming to a most appropriate and satisfying conclusion in New Zealand’s memorable four run win in the 2000 World Cup final.

A hallmark of Hockley’s batting was her consistency and ability at all levels. In 15 tests she averaged 52 and in 90 first-class games it was 50. She averaged 52 for Canterbury and 64 for North Shore. In 118 one-day internationals the average was almost 42 and in 216 one-day games overall, the average was just short of 50. Her Canterbury average was 65 and for North Shore it was 51.

Another feature of Hockley’s batting was her ability to score hundreds. A total of 23 in first-class and one-day cricket, including eight for New Zealand. Her highest score overall was 164 not out for North Shore against Wellington in January 1986.

Hockley’s first one-day international hundred was 117 against England in 1996 and this remained her highest score. She had scores of 100 not out and 100 in consecutive innings in the 1997 World Cup in India (New Zealand won both games) and yet another score of 100 against Australia at Melbourne in February 2000. In this game Australia had made 180-9 and New Zealand were bowled out for 167 in reply. Hockley, fighting a lone battle, made 100 while the next highest score was 18.

Hockley, although on the losing side, was named player of the final in the 1997 World Cup. She made 79 out of New Zealand’s total of 164 while only two other players reached double figures.

Hockley took over as captain of the White Ferns for the 1984 tour to England, making an unbeaten 107 (and 62) in the third test at Canterbury. Her other test hundreds came against Australia, India and in England again.

After a break of eight years from the captaincy, Hockley returned to the leadership role in February 1999 when New Zealand secured a rare Rose Bowl series victory and she made important contributions of 47 and 54 in the two games which New Zealand won. She captained the White Ferns in six tests and 27 one-day games. Hockley was the first woman to become President of New Zealand Cricket.

Martin Crowe 

Martin Crowe’s ability as a cricketer was noted from an early age and in March 1978 Auckland took the unusual step of taking the 15-year-old to Christchurch to act as twelfth man in the four-day Shell Trophy final.

His early returns for New Zealand did not represent the start he may have hoped for but his breakthrough came at the Basin Reserve in 1984 when he hit his maiden test century as he helped save New Zealand from what appeared to be certain defeat.

Crowe replaced Viv Richards in the Somerset side in 1984 and that season scored 1870 runs at 53.42. He was named as one of Wisden’s five cricketers of the year and was now rapidly establishing himself as a world-class batsman.

He made 188 for New Zealand against West Indies at Georgetown in 1984/85 and, a few months later, the same score against Australia at Brisbane (in New Zealand’s historic first test win in that country).

The 1986/87 season saw Crowe take his batting to extraordinary levels. His 1676 runs (at 93.11) and eight centuries were records for a New Zealand first-class season. He ended 1987 as  just the seventh player in the history of the game to score 4000 first-class runs in a calendar year.

In 1991 at the Basin Reserve, Crowe was famously dismissed for 299 against Sri Lanka. He and Andrew Jones helped save New Zealand from defeat with the (then) highest partnership in the history of test cricket, 467 for the third wicket.

The following summer saw Crowe’s reputation as cricketer and captain rise to new levels. The unfancied New Zealand team upset all predictions at the World Cup with innovative tactics such as opening the bowling with a spinner, frequent bowling changes and Mark Greatbatch’s hitting at the top of the order.

Crowe was in superb touch during the tournament, making 456 runs for just four times out, but was injured while batting against Pakistan in the semi-final at Eden Park and could not lead his team in the field to defend their total.

At the crease, Crowe was tall, elegant and imposing, with a classical style marked by beautiful straight-bat strokes. Ironically, the real sign of him being at the top of his form was when his cross-batted strokes were working and these were never seen to better effect than in the 1992 World Cup.

By the time of the 1994 tour to England, Crowe was being seriously troubled by an old knee injury, originally suffered playing rugby at school.

Crowe went to India with the New Zealand team early in the 1995/96 season but missed the series at home against Pakistan which followed and on 16 January 1996 announced his retirement from all cricket because of continued injury problems. He was 33.

Emily Drumm

Emily Drumm was playing for Auckland at the age of 14 and made her New Zealand debut aged just 17. She initially played in an all-rounder role (and actually opened the bowling in her first test) but gradually her batting took precedence and she built up a formidable record in that department.

Drumm only had the opportunity to play five test matches and in one of those she did not bat as rain ruined the game. Her last two test appearances produced scores of 161 not out and 62 not out against Australia at Christchurch in 1994/95 and 62 and 112 not out against England at Guildford in 1996. Her unbeaten 161 against Australia (scored in five hours out of a total of 323) was a New Zealand women’s test record at the time.

While her test careeer may have been limited, Drumm played 100 one-day internationals for her country and as many as 266 one-day games overall (111 for Auckland). Drumm reached fifty on 21 occasions for New Zealand in one-day games, twice going on to make a century. Those two hundreds came within the space of a month in late 2000, a momentous time for Drumm and the White Ferns.

New Zealand played a three-match series against England prior to the World Cup and Drumm made an unbeaten 116 in a big New Zealand win at Oamaru. Drumm reached three figures again, just three weeks later, in the World Cup match against South Africa at Lincoln.

She followed this with 53 in a vital win against England and then made 47 not out in the semi-final against India. On 23 December 2000, Drumm became the first New Zealand cricketer to captain a World Cup winning side, after New Zealand’s memorable four run win gainst Australia at Bert Sutcliffe Oval.

Although not often required at the bowling crease at this stage of her career, Drumm’s 37 wickets at 21 in one-day internationals, at just over three runs per over, highlight her all-round contribution and ability. In all one-day cricket she had 118 wickets at just 18.

Drumm closed her international career in a one-day series against India in March 2006. He last three innings at the top level were 94 not out, 83 and 67 not out.

Daniel Vettori

Daniel Vettori became New Zealand’s youngest test cricketer when he made his debut against England at the Basin Reserve in 1996/97 at the age of 18 years and 10 days. This beat the record of Nelson schoolboy leg-spinner Doug Freeman, which had stood for 64 years.

Vettori had only just made his first-class debut for Northern Districts, also against the England tourists, then had one further four-day game for his province (taking eight wickets in the match) and from then on it was on to the big time – and Vettori never looked back.

From his earliest days in the international arena, Vettori never looked out of place or overawed. In fact, given he had barely played domestic cricket before he was selected for his country, Vettori did his cricket learning at the highest level. There was no alternative.

Vettori played 112 test matches for New Zealand yet made only 22 first-class appearances for Northern Districts. In one-day cricket he played 291 games for his country but just 45 for his province.

While Vettori’s bowling was impressive from the start, he did have another string to his bow. Beginning at number eleven in the batting order in both domestic and test cricket, he soon showed he was better than that and rose to become an outstanding all-rounder on the world stage.

Although he did bat higher in the order, his favourite spot appeared to be at number eight where he scored more runs than any other player in test history in that position. Four of his six test hundreds came in that position where he averaged just a touch under 40.

Not only did Vettori expand his test game to all-rounder status he also embraced the two shorter formats. As a bowler he became renowned for his accuracy and was a master of drift and subtle variations in flight, speed and length. In 295 one-day internationals he took 305 wickets with an economy rate of 4.12 an over while his runs per over conceded in Twenty20 internationals was just 5.70.

Vettori played a total of 437 games for New Zealand across all formats and captained the side on 142 occasions.

Brendon McCullum

Brendon McCullum was many things as a cricketer. Someone who could bat anywhere in the order, energetic wicketkeeper, electric fielder and an enterprising captain. Not only that, he could adapt his game as required, from one extreme to the other.

On one day he might hit the fastest century in the history of test cricket (off 54 balls at Hagley Oval in 2016). On another occasion, when a little more patience was required, he would play the longest innings in the entire history of New Zealand first-class cricket (775 minutes for his 302 against India at the Basin Reserve two years earlier).

While his triple century was a special one, the first for New Zealand in tests, we should recall it was made in the most trying of circumstances. When McCullum came to the crease, New Zealand were still 194 behind with just seven wickets in hand and almost three days of the game remaining. The match was easily saved with some pressure on India at the end.

In 2010 at Hyderabad, McCullum had batted nine hours for a double century to see New Zealand to safety while opening the batting. In contrast, as a destroyer of opening bowling attacks, he was at his most destructive during the 2015 World Cup with scores of 77 (25) against England, 50 (24) v Australia and 59 (26) against South Africa. Very often, McCullum’s initial all-out attack reduced a tricky chase to a very much more manageable one.

McCullum’s first test as captain saw New Zealand routed for 45 at Cape Town in early 2013. McCullum, however, was a quick learner and turned New Zealand into a successful and hugely popular team in all formats, not only in terms of their results but also in the manner in which they played the game.

Under McCullum’s leadership, New Zealand reached the World Cup final for the first time in 2015 and went 13 consecutive home tests without a defeat.

McCullum’s commitment to the cause was never in doubt. He became the first player to play in 100 consecutive tests from debut (he finished with 101) and from September 2004 to May 2010 he played in 208 consecutive games for New Zealand (all formats). McCullum played 432 games for New Zealand overall, batted 474 times and amassed almost 15,000 runs.