Arguably New Zealand's best batsman of his generation, Bert Sutcliffe was a powerhouse of talent. A tall languid left-hander with a wide array of strokes, he was elegant in his shots and barely failed to entertain the crowd when he got going. A small criticism could be a slightly lax defence which did let him down at times but largely, Sutcliffe was a superior strokemaker who was the face of NZ's batting at a time when they were still building their image as a cricketing nation. He stressed on fitness like nobody else and inevitably was electric on the field, especially at short leg where he relished being the most. One of Sutcliffe's monumental feats was the trip to England where he smashed over 2500 runs - only the second after Sir Donald Bradman to achieve this feat. The pundits who saw him bat were swept away by his crisp strokeplay and charming persona.

One of Sutcliffe's biggest strengths was his adaptability on different pitches. He might have struggled to score in Pakistan but had phenomenal success in India, including a career best 230 not out, which showed that he had the skills to bat in sub-continental conditions. In fact, he scored at a better clip away from home than in New Zealand and this is usually a testimony to a batsmen's caliber. He was mentally tough and no incident defines this better than the Boxing Day Test at Johannesburg in 1953 when he produced a fine unbeaten knock of 80. During the course of the innings, he got punctured by a blow on the head and had to be taken to hospital for treatment. Sutcliffe battled the pain and came out to bat with bandages, to continue the fight with the opposition. That innings had another inspiration Bob Blair, who walked into bat at 11 after having lost his fiancee to a car crash just two days ago. He wasn't expected to come out to bat but he did and though New Zealand still lost, the duo's heroics stormed their way into New Zealand's cricketing history.

Sutcliffe was a poetic person who loved to pen down his thoughts. He even wrote his memoirs with his career while being still active. With over 17000 first-class runs, Sutcliffe was a legend in his own right, a batsman who redefined New Zealand cricket at a time when they were trying hard to salvage pride. Having debuted in first-class cricket as a teenager, he later took up teacher training and subsequently, joined the army. He served the New Zealand forces during the Second World War. Once he entered Test cricket, he was a dominant force with the bat and though that head injury at Johannesburg did derail his gameplay slightly against fast bowling, his consistency didn't really dip. Sutcliffe always had a huge appetite for big scores, his two first-class 350-plus scores and a series of double tons are proof of it. Sutcliffe seemingly played his last Test in 1959 but scarcity in resources saw him being forced to return in 1965, for a few tours after which he retired. He passed away in 2001 after a long battle with emphysema.