Kirstie Gordon

Kirstie Louise Gordon (born 20 October 1997) is a Scottish cricketer who currently plays for Kent, The Blaze and Trent Rockets as a slow-left arm orthodox bowler. She played for Scotland from 2012 to 2017, before switching nationality to England for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament. She has previously played for Nottinghamshire, Loughborough Lightning, Birmingham Phoenix and Otago.^[1][2]

Kirstie Gordon

Gordon during the one-off Test of the 2019 Women's Ashes
Personal information
Full name	Kirstie Louise Gordon
Born	(1997-10-20) 20 October 1997 (age 26) Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Slow left-arm orthodox
Role	Bowler
International information
National sides	England (2018–2019) Scotland (2012–2017)
Only Test (cap 159)	18 July 2019  England v Australia
T20I debut (cap 46)	12 November 2018  England v Bangladesh
Last T20I	24 November 2018  England v Australia
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2016–2019	Nottinghamshire
2018–2019	Loughborough Lightning
2020–present	Kent
2020–present	The Blaze
2021–2022	Birmingham Phoenix
2022/23	Otago
2023–present	Trent Rockets
Career statistics
Competition WTest WT20I WLA WT20 Matches 1 5 78 115 Runs scored – 1 483 307 Batting average — — 12.38 8.52 100s/50s –/– 0/0 0/1 0/0 Top score — 1* 60* 29 Balls bowled 220 114 4,205 2,419 Wickets 3 8 128 138 Bowling average 39.66 12.25 17.37 16.53 5 wickets in innings 0 0 2 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0 Best bowling 2/50 3/16 5/18 4/17 Catches/stumpings 0/– 0/– 28/– 34/–
Source: CricketArchive, 17 October 2023

Early life

Gordon was born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on 20 October 1997.^[3] As a youngster, she represented the North of Scotland at football and tennis.^[4] She began to play junior cricket at school and at Huntly Cricket Club. She progressed to play with the Huntly men's first XI aged 14, taking four wickets on debut.^[5]

Career

Gordon made her debut for the Scotland women's national cricket team aged 14 in May 2012, in a Women's County Championship match against Gloucestershire, and established herself as a regular member of the team. In 2014 she was named Scotland's under-17 player, batter and bowler of the year.^[4] Her first appearances against international opposition came at the 2015 ICC Women's World Twenty20 Qualifier event.

In 2015, Gordon moved to England to study for a Sports Science and Management degree at Loughborough University, while also playing county cricket for Nottinghamshire Women. This first brought her to the attention of coaches at the Loughborough-based England Women's Academy.^[4][5]

Gordon played for Scotland in the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier in February 2017.^[6] In the tournament, she was the highest wicket-taker for Scotland, with eight dismissals.^[7]

Gordon was offered a part-time contract as a talent identification player with Loughborough Lightning ahead of the 2018 Women's Cricket Super League season. As this was dependent on her not being classed as an overseas player, she was obliged to give up her qualification to play for Scotland in order to accept.^[5] She described her change of national status as a "massive risk".^[8][9] Now eligible to represent England, she was named in the squad for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament.^[10][11] She made her Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) debut for England against Bangladesh women on 12 November 2018,^[12] taking three wickets for sixteen runs.^[13]

The International Cricket Council (ICC) named Gordon as one of the five breakout stars in women's cricket in 2018.^[14]

In July 2019, Gordon was named in England's squad for their one-off Test match against Australia, as part of the Women's Ashes.^[15] She made her Test debut for England against Australia women on 18 July 2019.^[16]

In November 2019, she was named in England's Women's One Day International (WODI) squad for their series against Pakistan.^[17] On 18 June 2020, Gordon was named in a squad of 24 players to begin training ahead of international women's fixtures starting in England following the COVID-19 pandemic.^[18][19]

In January 2020, Gordon left Nottinghamshire after four years to sign for Kent.^[20] She returned to Loughborough as part of the Lightning squad for the opening rounds of the 2020 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.^[21] In 2021, she was the leading wicket-taker in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, with 16 wickets.^[22] At the end of the 2021 season, it was announced that Gordon had signed a professional contract with Lightning, having missed out on an England central contract earlier that year.^[23][24] She also played for Birmingham Phoenix in the first season of The Hundred.^[25]

In December 2021, Gordon was named in England's A squad for their tour to Australia, with the matches being played alongside the Women's Ashes.^[26] In April 2022, she was bought by the Birmingham Phoenix for the 2022 season of The Hundred.^[27] In January 2023, Gordon signed for Otago Sparks for the remainder of the Super Smash.^[28] In April 2023, it was announced that Gordon had been appointed captain of The Blaze, the new name for Lightning.^[29]

References

1. "Kent Women sign England international spinner Kirstie Gordon". Kent Online. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
2. "Player Profile: Kirstie Gordon". CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
3. "Kirstie Gordon". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
4. "Kirstie Gordon". Cricket Scotland. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
5. Woods, Mark. "I'm playing for England but representing Scotland, says Kirstie Gordon". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
6. "ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier, 7th Match, Group B: Scotland Women v South Africa Women at Colombo (MCA), Feb 8, 2017". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
7. "Records: ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier, 2016/17: Most wickets". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
8. "Kirstie Gordon: 'Massive risk' worked out for England's Scottish spinner". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
9. "'Want to be the best spinner in the world' – Kirstie Gordon". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
10. "England name Women's World T20 squad". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
11. "Women's World Twenty20 2018: England name three uncapped players in squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
12. "7th Match, Group A (D/N), ICC Women's World T20 at Gros Islet, Nov 12 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
13. "Kirstie Gordon stars with ball as England shake off rust with seven-wicket win". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
14. "2018 lookback – the breakout stars (women)". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
15. "Women's Ashes: Kirstie Gordon & Katherine Brunt in England Test squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
16. "Only Test, Australia Women tour of England at Taunton, Jul 18-21 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
17. "Sarah Glenn earns maiden call-up for England Women's squad to face Pakistan". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
18. "England Women confirm back to training plans". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
19. "England Women return to training with September tri-series on the cards". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
20. "Kent sign England spinner Kirstie Gordon". www.thecricketer.com. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
21. "Beaumont and Gordon to bolster Lightning squad". Loughborough University. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
22. "Records/Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, 2021/Most Wickets". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
23. "ECB fund sixth professional contract at each women's regional team". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
24. "Sophia Dunkley receives first England Women's Central Contract". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
25. "The Hundred 2021 - full squad lists". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
26. "Heather Knight vows to 'fight fire with fire' during Women's Ashes". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
27. "The Hundred 2022: latest squads as Draft picks revealed". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
28. "Sparks Sign Imports to Offset Loss of White Ferns". Otago Cricket. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
29. "Captain Gordon Prepared for Challenge as New Season Nears". Trent Bridge. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.

External links

• Kirstie Gordon at ESPNcricinfo
• Kirstie Gordon at CricketArchive (subscription required)