Gareth Hopkins

Hopkins emerged from the sidelines as a back-up for Brendon McCullum in 2004. Over the period of time though, Hopkins has had very little exposure at the highest level of the game.

Despite debuting in June 2004, Hopkins had to wait until the fag end of 2007 for his first ODI runs of his career. It did not help matters though that he was dismissed twice without scoring, first against West Indies in July 2004 and then against South Africa in 2007. It must be also said that he has failed to make most of the opportunities he has received.

Hopkins made his Test debut against England at Trent Bridge when Brendon McCullum played as a specialist No. 3 batsman. He had to wait until the tour of India in late 2010 for his next chance. Despite being a prolific scorer at the domestic levels, Hopkins has not quite converted it at Test level.

He was the natural successor for Brendon McCullum to the position of wicket keeper, when McCullum decided against keeping but lost his place to Reece Young when Pakistan toured in early 2011.

Hopkins emerged from the youth system, Hopkins has switched sides from Northern Districts to Canterbury and then to Otago before finally settling down at Auckland.

By Pradeep Krishnamurthy