Daniel Vettori
Daniel Vettori, of Auckland, received the Insignia of an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to cricket. Mr Vettori has recently retired the captain of the New Zealand cricket team, the Blackcaps. He has 300 test wickets and 4,000 test runs to his name, one of just a handful of international players to achieve this record and is regarded as one of the world’s top left arm spin bowlers. At 18 years of age, he was the youngest ever test player for New Zealand, debuting in 1997 in Wellington against England before making his one day international debut against Sri Lanka in Christchurch later that year. He went from representing the Northern Knights in the domestic competition to taking 12 wickets in one test against Australia in 2000.