Born 31st December 1961, in Pukekohe, Franklin, former New Zealand Test and ODI cricketer, Michelle Kay Fruin made her debut for Auckland in the Hansells Cup in 1984/5. Shelley’s primary role was behind the stumps with the keeping gloves. She began her batting career at the bottom of the order but there was more to this player than wicket keeping and when given the opportunity Shelley performed with the bat as well.
January 1992 was a big month, for Shelley made both her Test and ODI debut. On the 11th she donned the gloves for the New Zealand Test team against England. She played all three Test matches as a keeper, batting at the bottom of the order. That’s interesting because in her ODI debut on the 19th she batted at eleven and a day later she was opening the batting.
Shelley is out of the national team for a number of years and then resurfaces, this time without the wicket keeping duties, but instead as an opening batter. The role suits her. So does England. She resumed her Test career there and scored 179 runs at 44.75 and her ODI career with 152 runs at 25.33. Fruin’s final match for the White Ferns was in the final of the World Cup in 1997.
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