New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori has been named an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit at the Queen's Birthday Honours ceremony.
The former national team captain was given the honour in Auckland for his services to cricket in New Zealand.
"It feels like a real honour," Vettori told the New Zealand Herald.
"The first time I knew about [the royal honour], it was just a real surprise, I couldn't get over it."
The 32-year-old became the youngest ever New Zealander to play Test cricket when he made his debut at 18 years of age.
He has since gone on to score 4,167 runs and has taken 345 wickets in international cricket.
Vettori captained New Zealand for four years until he resigned after guiding his team to the World Cup semi-finals earlier this year.
