[1][2] Todd was born at Masterton near Wellington and educated at Rathkeale College in the town.
[3] He played age-group cricket fo both Central Districts and Auckland before making his senior debut for Wairarapa in the Hawke Cup during the 1999–2000 season.
He went on to make his senior representative debut for Central Districts the following season.
Later in the 2000–01 season Todd played for New Zealand under-19s in three under-19 Test matches and three under-10 One Day Internationals against the touring South African under-19 side.
[2] After three seasons with Central Districts, during which he played 10 first-class and six List A matches, Todd moved to Otago where there were more opportunities to break into the side as a batsman.