Few players in world cricket play the short-arm pull on one leg with elegance like Martin Guptill. A right-handed top order batsman, Guptill has consistently been among the runs in ODIs, but has struggled to make a mark in Tests.

In ODIs, Guptill made an immediate impact, scoring 122 in a ODI against West Indies, which, at the time, was the second-highest score by a debutant. More recently, he smashed England's bowlers all over Rose Bowl to score an unbeaten 189, the highest ODI score by a New Zealand batsman, after having scored an unbeaten 103 in the previous match. Both the hundreds led to New Zealand wins, helping them clinch the series.

Guptill gained recognition in the 2007-08 season, topping the overall State Shield run-charts with 596 runs at 59.60. His efforts took Auckland to the final, and he carried his purple patch into the Emerging Players tournament in Australia, finishing the highest scorer there as well for New Zealand with 280 runs.

That earned him a call-up to the A side and then to the ODI and Test squads. He was promoted to open in Tests, though it's a role he hasn't handled successfully so far. In the 2011 World Cup in the subcontinent, he was New Zealand's second-highest run-scorer, with 262 runs at 43.66. He signed with English county side Derbyshire for the 2011 season, scoring 278 runs in five games at 69.50 with two tons in the Clydesdale Bank 40, and 537 runs in eight Championship Division Two matches. A run of failures led to questions over his Test place but a dazzling T20 101 not out against South Africa in East London made him part of a select band to have scored international hundreds in all three formats.

An area Guptill needs to work on is his consistency, given his tendency to throw his wicket away after getting a start. However, he has the gift of timing and on his day, can be a purist's delight. Guptill's success is particularly remarkable as he has only two toes on one of his feet as the result of a forklift accident a few years ago.
Kanishkaa Balachandran