BJ Watling

A gritty right-hand batter and New Zealand's most successful Test wicketkeeper, Bradley-John Watling was born in Durban, South Africa, and moved to New Zealand at age ten. Started as a part-time keeper, he retired in 2021 as a central figure in a golden era for New Zealand, having won the World Test Championship with them.

Watling scored nearly 3400 runs as wicketkeeper - the most by any New Zealander in the role. His 265 dismissals behind the stumps remain a national record, comfortably ahead of Adam Parore's 201, and one unlikely to be broken anytime in the near future.

He played in the 2004 Under-19 World Cup and debuted for Northern Districts soon after. He twice topped 400 runs in his first three first-class seasons, made 509 runs in the state one-day competition in 2008-09, and 352 runs in eight innings in the 2009-10 Plunket Shield. He made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka the following year, and after Brendon McCullum gave up the gloves in Tests, Watling emerged as the best long-term candidate to become the full-time keeper from 2013.

Unassuming but invaluable, Watling's batting became synonymous with rearguard defiance. He put together 352 with McCullum against India in Wellington in a thrilling draw in 2014. A year later, he added an unbeaten 365 with Kane Williamson against Sri Lanka, the highest sixth-wicket stand in New Zealand's history. In England in 2015, after twin half-centuries at Lord's, Watling's 120 in Leeds secured a series-levelling victory - only the side's fifth Test win in that country.

Later career highlights included a fighting 77 not out off 250 balls in Abu Dhabi to clinch a series victory against Pakistan in 2018, and a series-levelling 105 not out in Colombo in 2019. That same year, he scored a Test career-best 205 against England in Mount Maunganui.

Watling retired after the inaugural World Test Championship final in 2021, bowing out with five catches and the trophy. He finished as one of the most respected keepers in the game in the first quarter of the 21st century.