Even before he embarked on the second leg of his career, as a hard-driven and hugely respected coach of India, John Wright was already renowned for his fighting qualities, allied to no little skill, that had enabled him to become the first New Zealand batsman to pass 4000 Test runs. A left-hand opening batsman with a sound defensive technique and a full array of strokes, Wright was an integral member of the 1980s New Zealand team that achieved notable overseas successes against England and Australia, and his century against Sri Lanka in 1990-91 meant that he scored a hundred against all six of his Test opponents (South Africa, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh later returned or joined the fold). It was the one that got away that was perhaps the most memorable, however. At Christchurch in 1991-92, he was one away from what should have been a match-saving century, when he charged down the pitch at Phil Tufnell, and was stumped. Tufnell proceeded to scythe through the lower order, and England won by an innings and four runs with just minutes of the match to spare. After a five-year gap following the end of his stint with India in 2005, Wright was appointed New Zealand's coach in December 2010.
Andrew Miller