Adam Milne

Early in his career, Adam Milne, a lanky right-arm fast bowler, was spoken of as New Zealand's quickest bowler since Shane Bond but injuries disrupted his career far more than they did even Bond's.

Milne made a dream first-class debut as an 18-year-old in the 2009-10 season, taking a wicket with his second ball and finishing with 4 for 52 against Canterbury, and was included Central District's T20 squad for the Champions League 2010 though he hadn't played a single game for them in the domestic competition. He turned out in two matches in the tournament and impressed with his pace, and was included in New Zealand's squad for their T20 series against Pakistan in December 2010.

Injuries then disrupted Milne's first-class career, before he returned to the headlines when picked in New Zealand's squad for the 2012 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. However, New Zealand took a cautious approach, knowing what a precious and fragile resource they had with his pace, which could go above 150kph at times. He was picked as their third frontline fast bowler for the 2015 World Cup, but his tournament was ended by injury after the quarter-final.

Milne was in fine domestic form ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup, having added variations like cutters to his repertoire. He was the only bowler in the inaugural Hundred to concede less than a run a ball, and when he got the big opportunity at the World Cup in the UAE as an injury replacement for Lockie Ferguson, he made the most of it, challenging batters with his unhittable lengths and uncomfortable bounce.