Colin Munro (born 11 March 1987) is a South African born former New Zealand international

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er, who played for

New Zealand cricket team The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Nicknamed the Black Caps (), they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. ...

. He was a member of the New Zealand Under-19 side and is currently a member of the

Auckland cricket team The Auckland cricket team represent the Auckland Region, Auckland region and are one of six New Zealand domestic First class cricket, first class cricket teams. Governed by the Auckland Cricket Association they are the most successful side havi ...

. He was a part of the New Zealand squad to finish as runners-up at the

2019 Cricket World Cup The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament was hosted bet ...

Early life

Munro was born the youngest of 4 boys, in early spring, 1987, with three older brothers. He attended Maidstone Primary School in

Tongaat oThongathi, previously and still commonly known as Tongaat, is a town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, about north of Durban and south of KwaDukuza. It now forms part of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, or the Greater Durban area. The area ...

and after moving to New Zealand, attended Pakuranga College and played in the school's 1st XI cricket team. Munro represented New Zealand in the

Under-19 Cricket World Cup The Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup is an international cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council contested by national under-19 teams. First contested in 1988, as the Youth Cricket World Cup, it was not staged aga ...

held in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in 2006.

Domestic and T20 franchise career

In 2012-13, he and Craig Cachopa added 377 runs for the sixth wicket against the

Wellington Firebirds The Wellington Firebirds are one of six New Zealand men's first-class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. It is based in Wellington. It competes in the Plunket Shield first class (4-day) competition, The Ford Trophy domestic one d ...

in the

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octo ...

, falling two runs shy of the sixth wicket partnership record. He scored the second highest score for the Auckland Aces of 269 unbeaten with 27 fours and 14 sixes behind Bill Carson's record score of 290 set back in 1936/37. In January 2017, Munro signed for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League and made his debut in front of 39,756 at the SCG against the Thunder. In March, 2018, as his international form in T20 not translating in ODIs, and with the

looming, Munro decided to forego the rest of the 2017/18 and 2018/2019

test seasons and focuses solely on white ball cricket. This also includes international Test cricket. In September 2018, he was named in Balkh's squad in the

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of the Afghanistan Premier League tournament. In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Brampton Wolves franchise team in the 2019 Global T20 Canada tournament. He was released by the Delhi Capitals ahead of the 2020 IPL auction. Ahead of the 2020 PSL Draft, he was released by

Karachi Kings Karachi Kings (; ) is a Pakistani professional franchise Twenty20 cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team is based in Karachi, the provincial capital of Sindh, and was formed in 2015 by the Pakistan Cricket Boar ...

. In December 2019, he was drafted by

Islamabad United Islamabad United () is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team is based in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and was formed in 2015 to compete in the first ...

as first pick of the Diamond Category round at the 2020 PSL draft. In June 2020, he was offered a contract by Auckland ahead of the 2020–21 domestic cricket season. In July 2020, he was named in the

Trinbago Knight Riders The Trinbago Knight Riders (formerly the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel) are a franchise cricket team of the Caribbean Premier League based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The Red Steel was one of the original six teams created for the ...

squad for the

2020 Caribbean Premier League The 2020 Caribbean Premier League (CPLT20) or for sponsorship reasons, Hero CPL 2020 was the eighth season of the Caribbean Premier League, the domestic Twenty20 cricket league played in the West Indies. All matches were played in Trinidad and ...

. He was signed by Manchester Originals for The Hundred 2021 tournament. In December 2021, he was signed by

following the players' draft for the

2022 Pakistan Super League 2022 Pakistan Super League (referred to as HBL PSL 7 for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season of the Pakistan Super League, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league which was established by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 2015. The tournam ...

. He was part of

Perth Scorchers The Perth Scorchers are an Australian men's professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Big Bash League. The Scorchers wear an orange uniform and are based in Perth in the Australian state of Western Australia. Their home gr ...

for the 2021–22 Big Bash League season but on 9 January 2022, he was tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In April 2022, he was bought by the Trent Rockets for the 2022 season of The Hundred in England.

International career

He was selected for the New Zealand Test Cricket team to play South Africa in the 2nd Test of the NZ team's tour after an injury to James Franklin. This made him New Zealand Test Cricketer number 258. In 2016, after becoming the top scorer in the domestic T20 competition, where he bats at no.3, there were hopes for him to cement that spot before the ICC World T20, given

Brendon McCullum Brendon Barrie McCullum (born 27 September 1981) is a former New Zealand cricketer, and the current head coach of the England men's cricket team in all formats. Representing New Zealand, he captained the team in all formats. McCullum was renow ...

's international retirement before the tournament. Munro was added to the series against Sri Lanka, after a great domestic season. He played the last ODI and 2 T20Is in the series. In the second T20I at

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

, Munro recorded the second fastest T20I fifty of all time in 14 balls, with seven sixes, only behind 12-ball fifty of

Yuvraj Singh Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981) is a former Indian international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. An all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox, he has won 7 Player of the Se ...

. This is also the fastest fifty by a New Zealander in this format, beating the previous record set by

Martin Guptill Martin James Guptill (born 30 September 1986) is a New Zealand cricketer and former international cricketer who played as an opening batsman in all formats of the game but pre-dominantly in limited-overs. Guptill is the first cricketer from New ...

(50 from 19 balls) just 20 minutes before. He was adjudged man of the match for this performance. On 6 January 2017 against Bangladesh, Munro scored his first Twenty20 International century, and became the third player for New Zealand to score a T20I hundred after Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill. With his century, New Zealand posted 195 runs in 20 overs and finally won the match by 47 runs. Munro was lifted to opening batting position during the ODI series against India, and he had good fortunes in the opening slot in a few matches. On 4 November 2017, in the second T20I of the Indian tour, Munro scored his second Twenty20 International century, becoming the second New Zealander (after McCullum) and fourth overall to score two T20I centuries. He was also the first batsman to score two T20I centuries in a year. New Zealand won the match by 40 runs and 3-match series was levelled 1–1 with his all-round contribution. During the series against West Indies, Munro moved up to open in the limited overs formats. On 3 January 2018, during the series against the West Indies, he became the first player to score three centuries in T20I cricket. With this feat, he became the no.1 T20I batsman in the world, while

Ish Sodhi Inderbir Singh "Ish" Sodhi (born 31 October 1992) is a New Zealand cricketer who represents the New Zealand national cricket team in all formats, and Canterbury in domestic cricket. He bowls right-arm leg spin, and bats right-handed. He reached t ...

claimed the no.1 T20I bowler ranking at the same time, making them the first Black Caps pair to top the respective lists since

and

Daniel Vettori Daniel Luca Vettori (born 27 January 1979) is a New Zealand cricket coach and former cricketer who played for the New Zealand national cricket team. He was the 200th player to win their Test cricket cap for New Zealand and an inductee in the Ne ...

in 2008 and 2009. In May 2018, he was one of twenty players to be awarded a new contract for the 2018–19 season by

New Zealand Cricket New Zealand Cricket, formerly the New Zealand Cricket Council, is the governing body for professional cricket in New Zealand. Cricket is the most popular and highest profile summer sport in New Zealand. New Zealand Cricket operates the New ...

. Munro experienced indifferent form opening in ODIs against the Indian cricket team in New Zealand in 2018-19 but had more success in the T20s and was Player Of The Match in the 3rd match with a rapid 72. His form reflected that of the NZ team. In March 2019, he was named as the ANZ International Men's T20 Player of the Year at the annual New Zealand Cricket awards. The following month, he was named in New Zealand's squad for the

. On 10 May 2024, he announced his retirement from international cricket.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Munro, Colin 1987 births Living people New Zealand cricketers Auckland cricketers Worcestershire cricketers New Zealand Test cricketers New Zealand Twenty20 International cricketers New Zealand One Day International cricketers People educated at Pakuranga College Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers Trinbago Knight Riders cricketers South African emigrants to New Zealand Sydney Sixers cricketers Comilla Victorians cricketers New Zealand expatriate cricketers in Bangladesh Karachi Kings cricketers Islamabad United cricketers Delhi Capitals cricketers Balkh Legends cricketers Cricketers at the 2019 Cricket World Cup Naturalised citizens of New Zealand Perth Scorchers cricketers North Island cricketers Manchester Originals cricketers Hampshire cricketers Trent Rockets cricketers Brisbane Heat cricketers Expatriate cricketers in Afghanistan Expatriate sportspeople in Trinidad and Tobago New Zealand expatriate cricketers in Australia New Zealand expatriate cricketers in Pakistan New Zealand expatriate cricketers in India New Zealand expatriate cricketers in England New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Afghanistan