Introduction:
Roger Twose was a New Zealand former middle, born on 17 April 1968 in Torquay, Devon, England. He played 16 Tests and 87 ODI’s for black caps in the late 1990s. The England-born cricketer was appointed as the director of Kiwi cricket to replace Greg Barclay in February 2021.
He completed his education with King’s College, Taunton, and joined the Warwickshire County Cricket Club. Where he couldn’t grab proper opportunities. So, Roger Graham Twose move to New Zealand in 1991-92 to search for a better chance.
In New Zealand, a better opportunity awaits him, where he performed well for many seasons for Central districts in the domestic circuit. Finally, selectors didn’t ignore his incessant performances and were selected for the India tour in 1995. In the rain-affected game, he made his Test debut in the 2nd Test at Chennai and didn’t bat in either inning.
Cricket Career:
After few failures, he returned to the New Zealand side in 1998-99 and become one of the best ODI batsmen in the world. This performance earns him a call “The Switch-hitter” While batting was his stronger suit, he was a decent medium pacer as well. Gradually, he established himself as a regular member of the ODI side but failed to cope with Test cricket.
World Cup 1999:
In the mega event of World Cup 1999, Roger Twose’s robust performance against South Africa and India help his side to earn a semi-final spot against Pakistan. Although his team lost the semifinal, he kept scoring 318 runs with a healthy average of 79.50.
His strong performances continued after retiring from Test Cricket. He played his last Test match against England in the 4th Test of Oval. He was failed badly in this match by scoring a mere 1 & 0. Therefore, his improved ODI performance rising to 2nd position in the ICC Top 10 rankings.
The colorful clothing gives him a lot of confidence to attack the opposition bowler with his lusty, powerful strokes. In a string of consistent displays, the left-handed Roger Twose reached his peak on the tour of South Africa in 2000. Thus, he scored his first and only ODI century after 75 matches. Indeed, his strong batting resulted in one of New Zealand cricket’s cult mantras “We need sixes, fours, and Twose to win”.
He was a vital cog in the Kiwi machinery in the 1999 World Cup, scoring 318 runs at an average close to 80. Regarded as a key influencer within his ear, He was the key member of New Zealand’s side, who won the Champions Trophy in 2000-01. In the ICC knockout Champions Trophy, he played a blistering inning of 87 against a strong bowling attack of Pakistan. Twose contributed a vital role to their win against India in the final at Nairobi. This was New Zealand’s first-ever major ICC event.
In February 2001, he played his last ODI against Pakistan at Dunedin by scoring 17 runs before Shahid Afridi took a nice catch off Wasim Akram’s bowling. Hence, he decides to hang his boots and retired from all forms of cricket to pursue a career in the banking field.
Test Stats:
In the 16 Test matches, he scored 628 runs @ 25.12 with the top score of 94 including 7 fifties, 3 wickets, and 5 catches.
ODI Stats:
In 87 appearances, he scored 2,717 runs @ 38.81 with the best of 103, including one hundred, 20 fifties 4 wickets, and 37 catches.
First-class:
In 178 matches, he scored 9,802 runs @ 36.98 with the top score of 277* including 18 hundred, 53 fifties 133 wickets @ 31.85 with the best of 6 for 28, two times five wickets in an innings, and 96 catches.
List-A:
In 333 matches, he scored 9,101 runs @ 34.60 with the best of 124*, including 11 hundred, 57 fifties 160 wickets @ 26.87 with the best of 5 for 30, one time five wickets in an innings, and 120 catches.
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