He managed to take the national side to Test series wins over India, England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.

The left-hander made his Test debut in 1993/94 - aged 20 years 352 days. Even though he was a player of precocious talent, at times, he seemed to lack the ability to play shots all-round the wicket. A stint with English county Middlesex in 2001 laid the foundations for a successful remodelling of his technique.

A match-winning innings of 134 not out steered New Zealand to victory over South Africa in the World Cup. People finally acknowledged the fact that the Kiwi skipper had come of age as a batsman. Fleming confirmed that the World Cup knock was no flash in the pan when he scored a career-best 274 not out against Sri Lanka in the first Test of their 2003 series.

ODI debut: 25 March 1994
Batting average: 30.87 (5589 runs in 206 matches)