Roger Twose

Born on 17 April 1968 in Torquay, England, Roger Graham Twose was an artistic left-handed stroke maker who normalised the "switch-hit" and occasionally bowled innocuous medium-pacers.

Roger's cricketing career started at Warwickshire, then voyaged to New Zealand in search of International cricket. After some solid domestic seasons with Central Districts, his debut came in the 1995 tour of India.

On his debut series, the Torquay-born cricketer was off the blocks quickly and stitched New Zealand's best 5th-wicket partnership alongside Chris Cairns. Both, however, bettered it again four years later.

The tenacious cricketer played some herculean Test innings' in his short career, with the fifties in both innings against Pakistan and battling knocks to avoid defeat against Zimbabwe, India and South Africa.

The Kiwi middle-order batter was prolific for New Zealand in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, smacking 318 runs at 79.50, but it wasn't enough to clinch the title. He soon quit Test cricket after dismally failing in New Zealand's elusive series win in England.

The dashing batter hit his career zenith in 2000. He starred in the 2000 ICC Knock-Out tournament, a scintillating 87 against Pakistan in the semis and a catalytical cameo against India in the final, helping New Zealand win their first-ever ICC event. 

Twose ended the year on a high by becoming the first Kiwi player to amass over 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODIs, including a maiden ton against a fierce South African side. When he played, the crowd sang, "We need sixes, fours and Twose to win."

In 2001, the Southpaw left cricket to pursue a career in banking. However, on February 2021, he was named the director of New Zealand Cricket.

(As of December 2022)