A huge fan of Glenn Turner, John Parker was born in a family of three brothers, all of whom played first-class cricket in New Zealand. John was the best of the lot and hence, inevitably made it to international cricket, representing the country for approximately eight years. He wasn't a gifted batsman but had immense powers of concentration and a combative attitude that helped him overcome the flaws in skill set. He was adept at keeping wickets as well whenever the situation presented itself. Parker used to open the batting at the start of his Test career and had all of his three centuries came while batting in the top three. A dip in form saw him being demoted to the middle order and he never constructed a three-figure knock again in the longest format. He did get starts and a handful of fifties too, but couldn't convert them into defining knocks. His ODI career was brief and mostly uneventful. After his playing days, Parker went on to become a hugely popular television commentator.