New Zealand’s former cricket and field hockey player, Lesley Murdoch has been elected as the Vice President of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) for a period of one year after which she is eligible for the nomination for the post of President of the organization which is currently held by Murdoch’s former teammate Debbie Hockley since 2016.
Her eleven years of cricketing career comprises six test matches and twenty-five ODIs for the White Ferns which includes three tests and 15 ODIs as a captain. Under her captaincy, the team drew two tests and lost one while they won eight ODIs and lost six of them with one ending in no result. She also played domestic cricket for Canterbury.
Talking about Hockey, she was a part of the New Zealand squad which finished sixth at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Three years later in 1987, her contribution to both cricket and hockey, made her a Member of the Order of the British Empire as a part of the New Year Honours. Further, in 2016 on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday during which rewards are given as an honor for the contribution by the New Zealanders, she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sport.
Adding to this, Murdoch is also a life member of NZC, a member of the Hood Committee which modernized the old New Zealand Cricket Council in 1995, a sports commentator for Sky Network Television for Cricket, Hockey and Netball, a sideline reporter for Radio Sports for Rugby matches and even a host of a sports show on Christchurch’s Newstalk ZB which airs on Saturday Morning.
The decision of giving her the post of Vice President, along with the other positions of the board was announced during the organization’s 127th Annual General Meeting held via video conference. Another big announcement that came as a surprise for many was the USD 160,000 surplus for the 2020-21 year as reported by NZC.
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