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January 10, 2025 9 mins

Martin Guptill has officially confirmed his retirement from international cricket.

The legend of the game reflects on being nervous for his first test debut, the top innings he's played and what retirement means for him. 

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Martin Guptel has officially confirmed his retirement from international cricket
one nine to eighth. Here is the delivery.

Speaker 3 (00:21):
Martin Guptil drives down the crowd. Four more Stand up
New Zealand, Stand up the worlds two, one hundred and
three not out Martin Guptel, Jus glorias at the start
of the fiftieth that's to be on the roof. It's enormous.
It's up the room, frony. About the fourth or fifth

(00:42):
time here at Wellington Stadium. Martin Guptel is center ball,
out of the arena, on the top of the cake
turn the second highest score of one day international cricket history.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
People, indeed history. It's quite out. We come to Martin
Guppler at two thirty seven, given that was a score
that day not out. Across a fourteen year international career,
three hundred and sixty seven games for New Zealand across
the formats, twenty three international centuries and numerous white ball
batting records, he is New Zealand's highest T twenty international

(01:14):
run scorer and third on our list of ODI run scorers,
behind only Ross Taylor and Stephen Fleming. Martin Guptel being
officially acknowledged at Eden Park today during the third ODI
between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. But he's taking the
time to join us for a chat. Martin, thank you
for doing so. Congratulations on an incredible career. How do
you reflect on it in its totality?

Speaker 4 (01:36):
First of all, first all, thank you very much. Yeah,
so I sort of still pinching myself that it's actually
all happened. You know, been out of the game a
couple of years now, and you know it's just yeh,
I said, I just sort of pinched myself. It's still
pretty surreal that it's all sort of trans by the
way it has and yeah, but it's all also look

(01:57):
back it with a miss pride that had actually happened
and I was able to do it for so long
for newr Dyalans.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
You're at Eden Park at the moment that was the
of your ODI deboo. Of course, the first New Zealand
did to score a century on ODI I day bo
one hundred and twenty two not out against the Windys there.
Could you remember being nervous before that innings.

Speaker 4 (02:17):
A little bit. I actually remember being more nervous before
my test day boo than my actual debut from New Zealand.
So but yeah, setting up here now and being able
to look down and just remember how the ground was
back then, obviously on the angle and a very different
dimension to what it is now, it drinks back some
really good memories.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
You've been playing for Auckland for three summers before that,
did you feel ready for international cricket?

Speaker 4 (02:42):
I don't think you ever feel ready. I can just
remember the call coming out of the blue. You know,
I had had a couple of couple of good things
for Auckland letting into that, and yeah, just a total
shock you actually get the call and yeah, and then
obviously what happened after that was nothing short of pretty
pretty awesome for me.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
The two three seven not out at Wellington. We just
heard some highlights from it during the twenty fifteen World Cup.
Where is that innings? Right among all of the innings
you've played.

Speaker 4 (03:11):
It's in my top three. I wouldn't say it's in
my number one, but it's definitely up there. I mean,
it's pretty it was pretty special day. You know, there
was a great worker down there in Wellington and a
hell of a day, you know, no clouds in the sky,
and yeah, everything just sort of went my way and
I was able to do what I did.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Everybody is asking if that's not number one, what is.

Speaker 3 (03:34):
So?

Speaker 4 (03:34):
Excuse me? I rate my one hundred and eighty not
out against South Africa and Hamilton, that's my number one.
It was on a tougher wicket against probably what was
a bit of bowling attack, and yeahs to be able
to see it through and be not out of the end,
to have that score was definitely my number one innings.
And it's not one league as well, to be fair. Yeah,

(03:55):
I saw my handstering in the field, so it on
one league as well, I can see it through. It
was pretty special.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Oh we can double it, then we can double the score.
It's worth tys as much on one league. The heads
on to the heads onto the roof though at Sky
Stadium or Westpac Stadium, Wellington Stadium as it was then,
Was that your biggest hit or was there one or
more bigger than that?

Speaker 4 (04:16):
Like honesty, couldn't tell you. There's I've had. I've had
a few decent ones in my time, but yeah, it
might be the biggest one I've had on the roof there. Okay,
I've had three up there just for the record, so
just throw that out there. But no, I actually couldn't
tell you which is my biggest one's but it definitely
would be up there somewhere.

Speaker 2 (04:36):
When do you Reckon Martin was your absolute sweet spot?
When do you think you were batting at your absolute best?

Speaker 4 (04:43):
Probably twenty sixteen seventeen for that through that. Yeah, well
it makes me probably from after the Wild twenty Steen
willcarp As everything sort of was about two years where
I was probably at the top of my game, and
that's where I felt like I was really really on
top of my game. So that's sort of yeah, sixteen
to seventeen years definitely when I was at my peak.

Speaker 2 (05:05):
Was there anybody in particular who enjoyed batting with.

Speaker 4 (05:10):
I'm enjoyed batting with everyone, you know. I had some
some fantastic meetings with Brendon mccarlam, We had great partnerships,
Cain Williams, and we had some good ones Roscoe as well.
Couldn't put a number on anyone, but also Colin Monroe
and the T twenty stuff. We've put on some great partnerships,
whether it's for Auckland or or for New Zealand, and

(05:30):
even in some French my stuff as well, we've better together.
So I can't say a singular any one person. You
just you just find a bit of a flow with
whoever you're batting with and have a bit of fun
with it.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
And let's not forget your your feats in the field
as well. The runout of ms DONI and the twenty
nineteen World Cup semi final, how fond are your memories
of that?

Speaker 4 (05:49):
Yeah? Pretty good. It sort of all happened a bit
of slow motion to start with. I can remember vividly that,
you know, when the ball went off I thought it
was just landing up and going to try out for
a catch, and then I realized it was sort of
coming more towards me and I had to get off
off the mark pretty quick. So yeah, I've got them
there and throw and all that that part happened very quickly.
That was a bit of a split split second held

(06:11):
all transpire there. But luckily for New Zealand, I you know,
I threw one straight.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
And the game that followed. How often do you think
back to the twenty nineteen Cricket World Cup Final, not.

Speaker 4 (06:25):
Too often earlier on it was, it was, it was
pretty yeah, still still pretty wrong in the memories, but
not so much these days now, all.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
Right, And now madam, you're bowling. You twice took three for,
You took three for twice in test matches, you twice
took two for an ODIs? Are you actually an underused
all rounder, a very reluctant.

Speaker 4 (06:47):
Under unifual rounder. So yeah, brilliant. I leave the bowling
up to the professionals.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
Right, Well, I know you've got other commitments, but I
just would like to ask you a couple more One is,
how much longer do you think you'll go on? You've
got franchise cricket obviously opportunities. How much longer do you
reckon You've got.

Speaker 4 (07:04):
I've hopefully on another couple of yearslifted me yet, the
Religious League starting up and guys overtire getting them back
into the game, that sort of things. Those are always
hopefully going to be there for me for a while.
But to do a full time I hopefully I got an
a couple of years lifted me before I can especially
hang the zut.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
And just finally, how would you like to be remembered
by New Zealand cricket fans.

Speaker 4 (07:27):
Oh gosh, that's something I've never really thought of. You know,
I went over I played for New Zealand and I
always gave it my all. Didn't always come off that's yeah.
I definitely gave it my alls just every time I
went out there, and you know, I had a lot
of fun doing it. So I'm not sure how are
we remembered, but hopefully it's only good things.

Speaker 2 (07:44):
Well I think it will be good things if all
of the reading I've done in the last little while
as anything to go by. Martin. Congratulations again on a
terrific career. Thank you for everything you gave to cricket
fans up and down this country and around the world.
And again thank you for taking the time for a
chat this afternoon.

Speaker 4 (07:59):
Thank you very much for having me appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (08:00):
No, I appreciate it very much. Indeed, Martin, thanks for
your taking the time. Martin Guptel there from Eden Park
where he is the center of attention today being acknowledged
for what has been what was a terrific career for
New Zealand. You know, the numbers are just astonishingly good,
incredibly good across the formats. Two and a half thousand

(08:21):
runs in Test matches nearly seven and a half thousand
in one day is over three and a half thousand
in T twenty Internationals. Nobody has scored more in T
twenty Internationals than Martin Guptel in so many moments, the
two three seven I think is still my favorite cricketing
moment at Sky Stadium, at Wellington Stadium, I've watched a

(08:44):
lot of cricket in my life. I haven't watched an
awfully large amount at the stadium because it's been mainly
white ball stuff since the stadium came to be in
two thousand. But that day with what Martin Guptel did
two hundred and thirty seven not out in a World
Cup quarter final to basically take the game away from

(09:06):
the East Indees. Just a remarkable display that day. Just
an incredible display of batsmanship from Martin Guptel that day.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to news Talks at b Weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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