Left-arm seamer, Neil Wagner was born in South Africa, but soon migrated to New Zealand to further his cricketing ambitions. Making his first-class debut for Northerns in 2006, he quickly announced himself with two four-wicket hauls in his first game. Wagner was unlucky in his country of birth due to the quota system, and hence considered making a move to New Zealand. The move paid off as he put in a stellar showing for Otago in his first season, and got only better in the years that followed.

He was finally rewarded for his consistent performances when he was handed his Test debut on the West Indies tour. After a slow start to his Test career, he gradually got into the groove and made his mark in the home series against England where he ended up with the most number of wickets (12) in the three match series. He went on to scalp his first five-for against Bangladesh in Mirpur. With consistent performances, he became a mainstay in the New Zealand Test side.