Lesley Murdoch

Lesley Jean Murdoch ONZM MBE (née Shankland; born 18 March 1956) is a New Zealand former cricketer and field hockey player. Between 1979 and 1990 she appeared in 6 Test matches and 25 One Day Internationals for New Zealand as a batter.^[1] Murdoch also captained New Zealand in three Tests, drawing two and losing one, and fifteen One Day Internationals, winning eight and losing six, with one no result. She played domestic cricket for Canterbury.^[2] In hockey, she was a member of the New Zealand team that finished sixth at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.^[3]

Lesley Murdoch

ONZM MBE

Murdoch in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Lesley Jean Murdoch
Born	(1956-03-18) 18 March 1956 (age 69) Christchurch, New Zealand
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Role	Batter
International information
National side	New Zealand (1979–1990)
Test debut (cap 73)	12 January 1979 v Australia
Last Test	1 February 1990 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 28)	10 January 1982 v England
Last ODI	11 February 1990 v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1975/76–1990/91	Canterbury
Career statistics
Competition WTest WODI WFC WLA Matches 6 25 56 51 Runs scored 253 417 2,280 1,172 Batting average 25.30 21.94 37.37 27.90 100s/50s 0/1 0/1 0/18 1/6 Top score 72 69 96 117 Balls bowled – – 24 16 Wickets – – 0 0 Bowling average – – – – 5 wickets in innings – – 0 0 10 wickets in match – – 0 0 Best bowling – – – – Catches/stumpings 1/– 4/– 18/– 8/–
Source: CricketArchive, 3 August 2021

In the 1987 New Year Honours, Murdoch was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to cricket and hockey.^[4] In the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sport.^[5]

At the 128th AGM of New Zealand Cricket in November 2022 Murdoch was elected president of the organisation.

Murdoch is currently a commentator for Sky Network Television calling netball, hockey and cricket. She also is a sideline reporter for Radio Sport during rugby matches at AMI Stadium and hosts a Saturday morning sports show on Christchurch's Newstalk ZB.

She is also a commentator for the OBS.