Martin Guptill - NZ cricket's ugly duckling

Martin Guptill. Photo / Getty Images.

What is it about Martin Guptill that so often has people questioning his value to the Black Caps?

Put simply, Martin Guptill is the ugly duckling.

As a 22-year-old, Guptill made a majestic unbeaten 122 on ODI debut. In the six years following, he has been criticised, pilloried and told he wasn't good enough and some have even suggested he doesn't deserve to be in the side.

Guptill's struggles in the test arena have been well documented. Between the end of August 2012 and when he was dropped in May 2013, he made 100 runs in 11 innings and it's possible his performances in the test arena distracted many from what he's produced in ODIs.

His issues playing the ball in and around off stump no doubt plagued him mentally for some time and, with the help of some technical adjustments, he's worked his way out of it and is now a far better player.

Good players sometimes require patience. Unfortunately, it's a commodity most pundits and social media commentators have a lack of.

Guptill's strike-rate in the opening 10 overs of ODIs became a topic of concern in the lead-up to the World Cup. He had been working on some technical changes with Martin Crowe and, like any change, it took time for it to become natural. His strike-rate suffered, as he wasn't able to get into a rhythm or flow during an innings. Because he wasn't batting for long enough in the middle, his changes weren't able to bed in. It was always going to be a matter of time.

It clicked at this year's World Cup, highlighted by his whirlwind 237 not out in the World Cup quarter-final against West Indies. In nine World Cup matches, he totalled 547 runs at an average of 68.37 to be the competition's leading run-scorer.

The ugly duckling had finally matured into something far more beautiful.

In the second ODI in Harare, Guptill and Tom Latham produced an impressive opening stand of 236 as New Zealand beat Zimbabwe by 10 wickets. In the process, Guptill registered his eighth ODI hundred and passed 4000 ODI runs.

Not much has been made of it, but Guptill is the fastest New Zealander to pass the milestone, achieving the feat in 115 matches and 112 innings. The previous fastest, the man considered New Zealand's best ODI opener, Nathan Astle, did it in 123 matches and 120 innings.

The 28-year-old Aucklander is the 10th New Zealander to reach the figure and joins exclusive company along with Astle, Stephen Fleming, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan, Martin Crowe, Scott Styris and Chris Harris.

His hundred in Harare takes his career tally to eight, which puts him third equal on that list with Stephen Fleming (behind Astle and Taylor) and one ahead of his current captain, Kane Williamson.

Interestingly, Guptill (40.60) now has the fourth highest batting average in New Zealand's history, too. He sits behind Williamson (48.16), Glenn Turner (47.00) and Taylor (43.91).

Why, then, is Martin Guptill not celebrated like his peers? What's so different about this bloke?

It's fair to say he is different.

It's well known the Avondale College product has two toes on his left foot, the sight of which is enough to make anyone queasy.

I'll never forget how Kieron Pollard reacted when he first saw 'Guppy' wearing jandals at the lunch break of an under-19 World Cup warm-up match. He turned green and completely lost his Caribbean cool.

"Oh my god, what happened man?" the burly West Indian said with a grimace.
Guppy reacted in his natural, unfazed way. He just smiled and carried on into the changing rooms to pad up.

It's the same way he's reacted to the challenges he has faced as an international opener. He just gets on with it. That's a personal trait to admire.

Is it finally time to celebrate him and acknowledge everything he has contributed to this team since his memorable debut back in 2009?

Or, will he forever remain the ugly duckling?