Glenn Maitland Turner played cricket for New Zealand and was one of the country's most prolific batsmen. He played domestically for Otago for most of his career and played 15 seasons in England for Worcestershire County Cricket Club. In two senses the most professional cricketer ever produced by New Zealand, Glenn Turner made himself a household name throughout the cricket world by dedicating himself to cricket from an early age and making the best possible use of a considerable natural ability. Unswervingly single-minded in his pursuit of runs, unashamedly ambitious and often impatient of amateur administrators in New Zealand, his career with Worcestershire was the key to his success everywhere else. He deliberately enrolled in the hard school of county cricket, learnt his lessons quickly and never forgot them.

Glenn Turner was born at Dunedin in 1947 and went to Otago Boys' High School, where he became serious about playing cricket. He played for the school between 1962 and 1964. He admitted that he spent so much time playing sport that he neglected his studies. He played a trial match for Otago against Southland in Invercargill where he scored 105 not out. This innings helped him get selected for the Otago team to play in the Plunket Shield at the age of 17.

Glenn Turner made his first-class debut for Otago against Canterbury at Carisbrook in 1964. He scored 126 runs that season averaging 14 per innings. He was a very slow scorer of runs at that stage. In one innings he scored 21 runs in 235 minutes. His second season of first-class cricket in 1965/66, he finished second in the averages with 330 runs at an average of 47.14. In his third season of first-class cricket for Otago in 1966/67, he scored 224 runs at an average of 22.4 per innings. Turner had trials with Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Lancashire, Middlesex, and Surrey and gained a contract with Worcestershire. He played two games for Worcestershire in 1967 and in the following season (1968) he played 25 first class games for them scoring 1182 runs at 28.82 with one century (106 against Middlesex). He had a quieter 1969 season scoring only 502 runs and failing to score a century.

After scoring 123 for the South Island versus the West Indies, Turner made his test debut against the West Indies in March 1969 making a duck in the first innings and 40 in the second innings. He followed this up with 74 in the first innings of the second test. For someone, who began as a natural stroke-maker, Turner's ability to build or rebuild an innings would mark him as a cut above the rest.

In 1970, Glenn Turner had his best season in first class cricket for Worcestershire. He chose to play more aggressively and scored 2379 runs which included 10 centuries and 9 fifties at an average of 61 runs. Wisden named him as one of their Players of the Year. His 2379 runs that year also made him the highest run scorer for the English season. Glenn Turner made his mark on the first-class cricket scene, particularly with Worcestershire in the English county championship. In all, he played 455 first-class matches, amassing 34,346 runs at 49.70, including 103 centuries making him one of a select few to score a "century of centuries", one of only four non-English cricketers to do so (the others being Donald Bradman, Zaheer Abbas and Viv Richards).

In the 1972 New Zealand tour of the West Indies, Turner scored four double centuries. The first was 202* against the Presidents' XI, then 223* in the first test, 259 against Guyana and 259 in the fourth test. The 259 in the fourth test was the second longest innings in test cricket in terms of the 759 balls faced. His performances saw him named the New Zealand Player-of-the-Year.

In 1974, Turner became the first New Zealander to score a century in each innings in a test match which assisted New Zealand to beat Australia for the first time in a test match. He represented New Zealand in 41 Tests, and achieved an average of 44.64, including seven centuries. He would have appeared for his country much more, however, had he not elected to be unavailable for several seasons after falling out with administrators.

Glenn Turner played in three world cups. In the 1975 world cup, He scored 171* in New Zealand's opening game against East Africa. At that time, it was the highest one-day international score ever made, passing both David Lloyd's 116 for the highest by a male cricketer in ODI and Lynne Thomas' overall record of 134. With a bowling attack lacking experience against someone like Turner, He found gaps in the field and scored "mostly with magnificent drives". It was also the longest individual innings in one-day international history, occupying 201 balls. He scored a second century (114*) against India in the third-round robin match.

In the 1979 World Cup, Glenn Turner topped the averages (88) and runs scored (176) for New Zealand without scoring a century. Glenn Turner is also the first player to score in an ODI a score of over 150 and also holds the record for the only batsman in ODI history to have faced over 200 deliveries in a single innings.

Turner is one of only two players since the Second World War to have scored 1000 first-class runs in England before the end of May, a feat he achieved in 1973. Among the eight batsmen who have done this, only Turner and Donald Bradman did it while playing for a touring team. Glenn Turner scored the most first class runs in the New Zealand 1975/76 season. He scored a total of 1244 runs at an average of 77.75 in 20 innings. This included scores of 177*, 104, 115 and 121* for Otago and 177 for New Zealand.

His most characteristic shots were the off-drive and a beautifully timed drive to midwicket with the face of the bat turned on impact. He began his Test career with a duck, but the broad canvas of the five-day game suited his tempo and temperament, giving a cultured craftsman the opportunity to build his innings steadily, soberly and coolly. He twice carried his bat through a completed Test innings, and in the West Indies in 1971/72 hit four double centuries in all matches, including successive innings of 259 at Georgetown.

Turner captained New Zealand in ten Tests but relinquished the job after one of his regular disagreements with administrators. He managed New Zealand's teams in Australia and England in 1985-86 and was reappointed in 1995. He coached Otago and was appointed a national selector in August 2007