Kirsty Bond is a former New Zealand Test and ODI player and the first woman to hit a double century in international cricket.
Born on November 20th 1967 in Christchurch, Kirsty began her First Class career with Canterbury in 1984/5 and would stay with that team until her retirement in 1995/6.
A call up to the national ODI team in 1988/9 in no less than a World Cup played in Australia and was again in the team for the World Cup in England in 1993. In 38 ODI matches for the White Ferns, Kirsty scored 719 runs at 29.95 with a strike rate of 44.16.
In 1994/5 she was selected for New Zealand’s Test team, under the captaincy of Sarah Illingworth to play a one off Test against India at Trafalgar Park, Nelson. It was a team containing batting greats Debbie Hockley and Emily Drumm, but the debutant wasn’t shy in that company and went within six runs of a century on debut.
In 1996, New Zealand toured England for a three Test series. The first of these, at Scarborough, saw the home team score an imposing 414 runs in the first innings. What happened next is a glorious piece of cricket history. Coming in at first drop, Kirsty Bond batted for 555 minutes, facing 504 balls and scoring the first double century in women’s international cricket. Bond’s 204 was a new record for the women’s game.
In six Test matches, 473 runs at 67.57 with one century and two half-centuries. Quite a journey, from Christchurch in 1984/5, two World Cup series and the first double ton in women’s cricket.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images