Debbie Hockley has often been regarded as one of the best batters produced from the New Zealand ecosystem and she is undoubtedly one of the finest players to have graced the twenty-two yards. Featuring in 118 ODIs, she has scored 4064 runs at an average of 41.89 raking up four centuries and thirty-four half-centuries. In tests, she has notched 1301 runs at 52.04 with four centuries and seven half centuries.
She also is the first to have breached the barrier of scoring 4000 runs and also has the distinction of being the first to feature in 100 ODIs. She was also the first woman to have served as NZC’s president and has played in more than 40 World Cup matches. Having won the New Zealand Cricketer of the Year Award in 1998, she is the only woman to have won the award and has been a pioneer for the White Ferns. She has also been inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame besides being awarded a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to cricket, in 2021.
In the latest news, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has announced an honour in her name and that New Zealand’s outstanding female cricketer will be awarded the Debbie Hockley Medal at this year’s annual awards ceremony. The icing on the cake is she will present this award to the deserving cricketer in the awards ceremony.
Speaking about this honour, “I feel honoured, personally, of course – but also thrilled that the country’s outstanding women’s cricketer of the year will be recognised on an annual and ongoing basis. It’s been wonderful to watch the progress of the women’s game in New Zealand over the past five or six years and this is another very positive development. Women’s cricket is going from strength to strength; the growth at all levels has been amazing. I’m looking forward to presenting this award to the inaugural recipient in March.”
I am a first year postgraduate student pursuing a MA in Media and Communication Studies at Christ University, Bengaluru. I am a podcaster, blogger and an avid cricket fan. When not glued to cricket matches, you can find me submerged in books and thinking about cricket all the time.
