Rodney Redmond was a tall, aggressive opening batsman who hit powerfully off the front foot, as well as being a useful slow left-armer and a sound fielder. Brought into the New Zealand side at the age of 28 for the third Test against Pakistan at Christchurch in 1972-73, he cracked 107 and 56 and was an automatic choice for the 1973 squad to tour England. But he struggled to come to terms with new contact lenses and his form on the trip was poor - he managed 483 runs at 28.41 and did not play in any of the Tests. He subsequently missed the 1973-74 season, was never again in the reckoning for a Test berth and played only two more summers before retiring. He now lives in Perth, Western Australia, but his son Aaron has moved back to New Zealand, where he attended the NZ Cricket Academy. Aaron started at Canterbury, moved to Otago and was picked for the 2008 England tour.
Martin Williamson