The New Zealand cricketing history goes way back to 1930 when they played their first ever Test match against England at Christchurch. They had their first taste of victory 26 years later when they defeated West Indies in 1956 at Auckland.
The early days in cricket weren’t too fruitful, but the small country has produced some of finest talents in world cricket. They have established themselves as one of the superpowers of the game.
They are no more the underdogs and here are some captains who were responsible for carrying them this far.
#5 Jeremy Coney
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Jeremy Coney captained the Kiwi side from 1984 to 1987 in a total of 15 Test matches.
The side enjoyed huge success under Coney, as they won 3 out of the 5 Test series and lost only one under him. They won a total of 5 matches, lost 4 and 6 ended in draws. Out of the 3 series wins, 2 came against the mighty Aussies.
Due to his stature and abilities in the slip cordon, he was nicknamed as “The Mantis” and later named his autobiography as “Playing Mantis”. He was one of the most successful batsmen of that time for New Zealand. He represented the side in 52 Test matches in which he scored 2668 runs at an average of 37.57.
To go with the runs, he also took 27 wickets to prove his all-round skills, much like many other players from the country, and was also an excellent fielder.
Captaincy record
Year | Opposition | Venue | Winner |
1984/5 | Pakistan | Away | Pakistan (2-0) |
1985/6 | Australia | Away | New Zealand (2-1) |
1985/6 | Australia | Home | New Zealand (1-0) |
1986 | England | Away | New Zealand (1-0) |
1986/7 | West Indies | Home | Draw (1-1) |
#4 Daniel Vettori
The most successful left-arm spinner of all time, Daniel Vettori led the New Zealand side in 32 Test matches from 2007 to 2011.
Even though New Zealand managed to win only 6 Test matches out of 32 under him, he is still the fourth most successful captain in terms of number of victories.
He will be regarded a great captain because he marshalled the side when they were moving on from Stephen Fleming and some other big names. During the transition phase, they struggled for the most part under him.
His record as a player is fabulous. The tall left-hander played 113 Tests for the Kiwis and scalped 362 wickets and is the second highest wicket taker for them after Sir Richard Hadlee.
He also has 6 hundreds to his name and later in the career, his contributions with the bat were immense down the order. The canny spinner is still involved in the game as he continues to coach some of the top T20 sides in the world.
Captaincy record
Year | Opposition | Venue | Winner |
2007/8 | South Africa | Away | South Africa (2-0) |
2007/8 | Bangladesh | Home | New Zealand (2-0) |
2007/8 | England | Home | England (2-1) |
2008 | England | Away | England (2-0) |
2008/9 | Bangladesh | Away | New Zealand (1-0) |
2008/9 | Australia | Away | Australia (2-0) |
2008/9 | West Indies | Home | Draw (0-0) |
2008/9 | India | Home | India (1-0) |
2009 | Sri Lanka | Away | Sri Lanka (2-0) |
2009/10 | Pakistan | Home | Draw (1-1) |
2009/10 | Bangladesh | Home | New Zealand (1-0) |
2009/10 | Australia | Home | Australia (2-0) |
2010/11 | India | Home | India (1-0) |
2010/11 | Pakistan | Home | Pakistan (1-0) |
#3 Geoff Howarth
The right-handed Geoff Howarth has the best record as a Test captain for the country in terms of win percentage. Out of the 30 Test matches as captain, his side emerged victorious on 11 occasions and lost on just 7.
Under him, New Zealand got their first ever Test series win against West Indies in 1980. He went on to captain the team till 1985 with a 36.66% victory rate.
New Zealand played 10 Test series under Howarth and won 6, lost 3 and drew 1. They became a formidable side at home as they were unbeaten in all the 6 series that they played in their own backyard. They had just one away series win in Sri Lanka in 1983.
Howarth amassed 2531 runs in 47 Tests at an average of 32.44 and scored 6 centuries. Later, he became the coach of the New Zealand cricket team in the early 1990s.
Captaincy record
Year | Opposition | Venue | Winner |
1979/80 | West Indies | Home | New Zealand (1-0) |
1980/1 | Australia | Away | Australia (1-0) |
1980/1 | India | Home | New Zealand (1-0) |
1981/2 | Australia | Home | Draw (1-1) |
1982/3 | Sri Lanka | Home | New Zealand (2-0) |
1983 | England | Away | England (3-1) |
1983/4 | England | Home | New Zealand (1-0) |
1983/4 | Sri Lanka | Away | New Zealand (2-0) |
1984/5 | Pakistan | Home | New Zealand (2-0) |
1984/5 | West Indies | Away | West Indies (2-0) |
#2 Brendon McCullum
The flamboyant cricketer literally changed the way New Zealand cricket was played. Brendon McCullum’s batted aggressively right from the start and the same was reflected in his captaincy.
He became the captain in 2012 and led the side in 31 Tests in which they won 11 and lost as many. He has the second best win percentage behind Geoff Howarth.
Under McCullum’s captaincy, New Zealand lost to Australia in 2015 which was their only series loss at home. Their only away win came against West Indies in 2013 by a margin of 2-0.
The wicket-keeper batsman had an illustrious career as he played 101 Test matches for the nation. He amassed 6543 runs at an average of 38.64 including 12 hundreds and 31 fifties.
There is no denying the fact that he is responsible for transforming the country’s cricket in the last decade which was evident as they made it to the final of the 2015 ODI World Cup being unbeaten.
The hard-hitting batsman will certainly go down as one of the legends of New Zealand cricket.
Captaincy record
Year | Opposition | Venue | Winner |
2012/13 | South Africa | Away | South Africa (2-0) |
2012/13 | England | Home | Draw (0-0) |
2013 | England | Away | England (20-) |
2013/14 | Bangladesh | Away | Draw (0-0) |
2013/14 | West Indies | Home | New Zealand (2-0) |
2013/14 | India | Home | New Zealand (1-0) |
2014 | West Indies | Away | New Zealand (2-1) |
2014 | Pakistan | Away | Draw (1-1) |
2014/15 | Sri Lanka | Home | New Zealand (2-0) |
2014/15 | England | Away | Draw (1-1) |
2015 | Australia | Away | Australia (2-0) |
2015/16 | Sri Lanka | Home | New Zealand (2-0) |
2015/16 | Australia | Home | Australia (2-0) |
#1 Stephen Fleming
Stephen Fleming, the steady opening batsman and captain, was the face of New Zealand cricket for close to a decade.
His tenure as captain started in 1997 and lasted till 2006. Under his captaincy, the Kiwis played 80 Tests and won 28, the most till date for any captain from the country. They lost 27 and drew 25 games. For a long time, the side was heavily dependent on him and he fulfilled those responsibilities by becoming the most successful Test captain for them.
Their biggest series win came in 1999 when they defeated England in England by a margin of 2-1 in a 4-Test match series. They had a very good run in home conditions and were a very difficult side to beat at home.
Fleming played 111 Tests and scored 7172 runs at an average of 40.06 with 9 hundreds and 46 fifties. He is currently the leading run scorer for the Kiwis in Test cricket.
The left-hander will also be remembered as one of the pioneers of the New Zealand cricket. Post-retirement, he has been pretty active in cricket coaching was instrumental in Chennai Super Kings’ success in the IPL over the years.
Captaincy record
Year | Opposition | Venue | Winner |
1996/7† | England | Home | England (1-0) |
1996/7 | Sri Lanka | Home | New Zealand (2-0) |
1997/8 | Zimbabwe | Away | Draw (0-0) |
1997/8 | Australia | Away | Australia (2-0) |
1997/8 | Zimbabwe | Home | New Zealand (2-0) |
1998 | Sri Lanka | Away | Sri Lanka (2-1) |
1998/9 | India | Home | New Zealand (1-0) |
1999 | England | England | New Zealand (2-1) |
1999/2000 | India | Away | India (1-0) |
1999/2000 | West Indies | Home | New Zealand (2-0) |
1999/2000 | Australia | Home | Australia (3-0) |
2000/1 | Zimbabwe | Away | New Zealand (2-0) |
2000/1 | South Africa | Away | South Africa (2-0) |
2000/1 | Zimbabwe | Home | Draw (0-0) |
2000/1 | Pakistan | Home | Draw (1-1) |
2001/2 | Australia | Away | Draw (0-0) |
2001/2 | Bangladesh | Home | New Zealand (2-0) |
2001/2 | England | Home | Draw (1-1) |
2002 | Pakistan | Away | Pakistan (1-0) |
2002 | West Indies | Away | New Zealand (1-0) |
2002/3 | India | Home | New Zealand (2-0) |
2003 | Sri Lanka | Away | Draw (0-0) |
2003/4 | India | Away | Draw (0-0) |
2003/4 | Pakistan | Home | Pakistan (1-0) |
2003/4 | South Africa | Home | Draw (1-1) |
2004 | England | Away | England (3-0) |
2004/5 | Bangladesh | Away | New Zealand (2-0) |
2004/5 | Australia | Away | Australia (2-0) |
2004/5 | Australia | Home | Australia (2-0) |
2004/5 | Sri Lanka | Home | New Zealand (1-0) |
2005 | Zimbabwe | Away | New Zealand (2-0) |
2005/6 | West Indies | Home | New Zealand (2-0) |
2005/6 | South Africa | Away | South Africa (2-0) |
2006/7 | Sri Lanka | Home | Draw (1-1) |
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