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 made an immediate impact on the international scene, scoring 122 in a ODI against West Indies, which, at the time, was the second-highest score by a debutant. He 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, which they eventually lost to Otago. 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 and it's a role he's getting accustomed to. 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. He returned in 2012, as Derbyshire won promotion, though his form began to desert him shortly after making scores of 97, 67, 71 and 42 in New Zealand's 2-0 Test defeat in the West Indies. 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