Amelia Kerr, Jacob Duffy bag top honours at New Zealand Cricket Awards

Pacer Jacob Duffy has won the Sir Richard Hadlee medal as the best men’s player at the New Zealand Cricket Awards, while New Zealand Women (White Ferns) captain Melie Kerr won the Debbie Hockley Medal medal as the best female player.

Ever since the introduction of the award back in 2023, the 25-year-old has been the only recipient of the medal, making her a four-time consecutive winner in 2026. The newly-appointed captain was the highest scoring T20I player, scoring 354 runs at an average of 70. She recently scored 105 against South Africa in Christchurch as the Kiwis won the five-match series 4-1 under her leadership.

Duffy, on the other hand, has won the prestigious Sir Richard Hadlee medal for the first time in his career. The right-arm seamer took 25 Test wickets in the calendar year of 2025 at an amazing average of just 16.28 whilst taking three five-wicket hauls. He thus became the second consecutive fast bowler to win the Sir Richard Hadlee medal after Matt Henry won it in 2025. The 31-year-old also won the ANZ Test Player of the Year award for his performances in the longest format of the game. 

In the other categories, opening batter Tim Seifert won the ANZ Men’s T20I Player of the Year after scoring 739 runs at a strike-rate of 154. He was New Zealand’s leading run-scorer at the 2026 T20 World Cup scoring 326 to take his side to the final.

Meanwhile, middle-order batter Daryl Mitchell won the ANZ Men’s ODI Player of the Year after scoring 682 runs in the 50-over format at a ridiculous average of 138. His highlight from the calendar year came against India in a three-match ODI series where he scored 352 runs at an average of 176. He scored two centuries and one half-century in three innings. 

Umpire Chris Gaffaney was awarded with the G.J. Gardner Homes Umpire of the Year following his involvement at the T20 World Cup and the Ashes in Australia. 

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