Auckland-born Kim Cotton accomplished a historic feat by becoming the first female umpire to officiate in a Men’s T20 International (T20I) cricket match involving two ICC full-member nations. She stood as an umpire in the second T20I held between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Dunedin, which the hosts won by nine wickets.
Prior to this achievement, Cotton had officiated in 16 women’s one-day international games and 44 women’s T20Is. Additionally, she was selected as one of the on-field umpires for the 50-over Women’s World Cup final in 2022 and the Women’s T20 World Cup final in February 2023.
History today for umpire Kim Cotton who becomes the first female umpire to stand in a men’s international match between two @ICC full member countries 🤝#NZvSL #CricketNation pic.twitter.com/EI8C1RJt4d
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) April 5, 2023
Notably, in 2019, Claire Polosak broke the significant barrier by serving as the first female umpire in a men’s international cricket match. She officiated in a One-Day game between Oman and Namibia, both of which were associate nations.
Further, Polosak had added another feather to her cap in 2022 when she became the first female match official in a men’s Test match, serving as the fourth umpire during a Test between India and Australia in Sydney.
Speaking about the match, New Zealand secured a resounding nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka, thanks to a career-best bowling performance from Adam Milne and an impressive fifty by Tim Seifert. Milne achieved a remarkable feat by taking five wickets, which significantly contributed to restricting the opposing team, the Islanders, to a paltry total of 141 runs. The highest scorer for the visitors was Dhananjaya de Silva, who scored 37 runs off 26 balls.
The Black Caps’ response to the modest target was emphatic as they chased it down in just 14.4 overs, losing only one wicket. The highlight of their innings was an outstanding knock by Seifert, who scored 79 runs off just 43 deliveries, laced up with three fours and 6 massive sixes.
