Kyle Mills

Time and again, injuries had been the single largest stumbling block in the career of Kiwi speedster Kyle Mills. But it was laudable that his performances had not been affected by his niggles and he emerged as one of the most established bowlers in the Kiwi side.

After debuting for Auckland in 1998, Mills switched loyalties to Lincolnshire in 2001 and in the same year made his ODI debut against Pakistan. Over the next two years, he made fleeting appearances in ODIs including the 2003 World Cup, where he played a solitary game. Mills got his first break in Test cricket in 2004 but his debut proved to be a totally forgettable outing with a side strain ruling him out of the remaining tour. His ODI career was however going great guns with the 2005-06 season yielding 19 wickets which included a memorable 4-44 against South Africa at Cape Town.

An injury prior to the 2007 World Cup ruled him out of the event but his agony refused to cede even after a long rehabilitation as a stomach bug ruled him out of a Test against South Africa in 2007. But Mills buried his injury demons against the Africans in the following ODI series scalping 8 wickets which included his first five-wicket haul. Mills played in the inaugural season for the Punjab franchise in the Indian T20 League and an inspiring performance in the Chappell-Hadlee series in early 2009 saw him reach the top of the ODI rankings. He also played a major role in New Zealand's 2009 World Twenty20 campaign and starred in the following ICC Champions Trophy where the Black Caps reached the tournament's final.

In November 2009, he needed a surgery on his shoulder as well as his knee and that forced him out of action. Another spate of injuries followed in 2010 and 2011 forcing him out of action for most part of these years. In 2013, Mills was appointed as ODI captain for the Lankan limited-overs tour, after the Kiwis suffered a whitewash at the hands of Bangladesh.

He missed most of the action in 2014 and 2015 and finally, when, in spite of being a part of the Kiwi World Cup squad, he struggled to get a single game, the pacer decided to call it quits from international cricket.