Martin Guptill

Few players in world cricket played the short-arm pull on one leg with the elegance of Martin Guptill. A right-handed opening batter, Guptill was a consistent ODI run-maker, notably scoring a double-century in the quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup.

His Test career, which ended in 2016, yielded flashes of brilliance but never the consistency to match his limited-overs exploits. His tendency to drive on the up and play with hard hands made him vulnerable in seaming conditions, but when the ball stopped moving, his strokeplay could be imperious.

The first time he gained recognition was in 2007-08, topping the State Shield run charts. His efforts took Auckland to the final, and he carried his purple patch into the Emerging Players tournament in Australia, finishing as New Zealand's highest scorer. That earned him a call-up to the A side and then to the ODI and Test squads.

When he made 237 against West Indies in the 2015 ODI World Cup, it was the second-highest score of all time in the format. He was the top scorer in that tournament, with 547 runs, ahead of two all-time greats, Kumar Sangakkara and AB de Villiers. In 2018, he became New Zealand's fourth player to reach 6000 ODI runs, and he went on to finish with over 7000 -- behind only Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson. Guptill won New Zealand Cricket's ODI and T20 player-of-the-year titles multiple times.

He entered the 2019 ODI World Cup in red-hot form but failed to have the impact he did the previous time. His direct hit to run-out MS Dhoni in the semi-final was one of the tournament's most iconic moments, but he was also the man stranded short of his crease on the fateful last ball of the Super Over in the final at Lord's.

Guptill's growth as a player on the world stage was underlined by the contracts he received from Derbyshire and Lancashire in England; Melbourne Renegades in the BBL; Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL; and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots and Guyana Amazon Warriors - the last of which teams made him captain for the 2016 CPL.

Guptill finished his career with more than 350 internationals, as one of only a handful of men to have scored more than one T20I century, and as New Zealand's top run-scorer in that format by a huge margin.