Martin Crowe (299)
One of the finest cricketers New Zealand has ever produced, He was known for his aggressive captaincy and imaginative leadership skills which were evident when he introduced spinners right from the first over and the famous pinch-hitting concept during the 1992 world cup. During the first test in the 1990-91 Sri Lankan tour of New Zealand, the black caps were unexpectedly bowled out for only 174 in their first innings, in reply Sri Lanka piled on 497 which naturally put the hosts under pressure and they had no other choice but to look for a huge total in the second innings.
It was Crowe who took the challenge and responded with a splendid knock as he safely guided his team away from danger. However, nerves got the better of him in the end as he edged part-time Ranatunga to the keeper finishing his innings on 299. He could have been the first New Zealand batsman to score 300 but it wasn’t to be, recently Brendan McCullum broke the 300 barriers when he scored 302 against India.