New Zealand Cricket awards: Melie Kerr, Matt Henry win supreme medals

Wednesday, 9 April 2025

White Ferns star Melie Kerr won a third successive Debbie Hockley Medal while Matt Henry grasped the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for the first time as the pair dominated the New Zealand Cricket awards night in Auckland.

Both players won four gongs apiece on Wednesday night, capped by the respective women’s and men’s standout player awards.

Kerr was always at microscopic odds to maintain her record as the only winner of the Hockley Medal, in its third year of existence.

The remarkable legspinning allrounder was named ICC women’s cricketer of the year for 2024 after being named player of the tournament in the White Ferns’ T20 World Cup victory in the United Arab Emirates.

She hit 43 off 38 balls then took 3-24 to help clinch a 32-run win over South Africa in the final in Dubai last October, as the White Ferns celebrated a second world title 24 years after their first.

On Wednesday Kerr swept the women’s ODI and T20I player of the year awards, as well as T20 Super Smash women’s player of the year for her 441 runs and 15 wickets in the Wellington Blaze’s title victory.

“Melie’s consistency, skill, and passion for the game are an inspiration to us all, and I couldn’t be prouder to see her name etched alongside mine once again,” said White Ferns legend Hockley.

Henry, meanwhile, became the sixth different Hadlee medallist in as many years for his prolific wicket-taking for the Black Caps across all formats.

Henry won test player of the year for his 25 wickets at an average of 20 in five tests, including an eight-wicket haul in Bangalore during the historic 3-0 series win against India.

His 24 wickets at 15.50 secured the men’s ODI award as a pivotal figure in the Black Caps’ charge to the Champions Trophy final. Henry’s 28 wickets at 21.5 also earned him the Winsor Cup for men’s first-class bowling.

“Matt’s match-defining contributions in high-stakes matches across all formats underscored his status as the season’s most influential bowler,” said the award judges.

Henry followed Ross Taylor (2020), Kane Williamson (2021), Tim Southee (2022), Daryl Mitchell (2023) and Rachin Ravindra last year as recent Hadlee medallists.

Jacob Duffy won men’s T20I player of the year for his remarkable haul of 21 wickets at 9.71 which saw him elevated to the world’s top-ranked men’s T20I bowler, while Williamson won a seventh Redpath Cup for men’s first-class batting. The Black Caps run machine averaged 57 in eight first-class innings in New Zealand.

Northern Districts’ Brett Hampton and Otago’s Eden Carson won the men’s and women’s domestic gongs, while Tom Bruce (Super Smash men’s player), Maddy Green (Ruth Martin Cup for batting) and Carson (Phyl Blackler Cup for bowling) rounded out the player awards.

Chris Gaffaney was named top umpire while long-time statistician Francis Payne received the Bert Sutcliffe Medal for outstanding services to cricket.

A cricket historian of global renown, the award recognised Payne’s significant contributions to the documentation and preservation of cricket history, most notably through his 42-year role as co-editor of the New Zealand Cricket Almanack.

NZ Cricket award winners for 2024-25

Debbie Hockley Medal: Melie Kerr

Sir Richard Hadlee Medal: Matt Henry

Test player of the year: Matt Henry

Men’s ODI player: Matt Henry

Women’s ODI player: Melie Kerr

Men’s T20I player: Jacob Duffy

Women’s T20I player: Melie Kerr

Men’s domestic player: Brett Hampton (Northern Districts)

Women’s domestic player: Eden Carson (Otago)

Super Smash men’s player: Tom Bruce (Central Districts)

Super Smash women’s player: Melie Kerr (Wellington)

Redpath Cup (men’s first-class batting): Kane Williamson

Ruth Martin Cup (women’s domestic batting): Maddy Green

Winsor Cup (men’s first-class bowling): Matt Henry

Phyl Blackler Cup (women’s domestic bowling): Eden Carson

Umpire of the year: Chris Gaffaney

Bert Sutcliffe Medal (outstanding services to cricket): Francis Payne