Club: Petone-Riverside

State Wellington Firebirds debut: v State Otago Volts 2000/01 (State Championship)
Best bowl: 8 for 55 v State Auckland Aces 2006/07 (State Championship)

Iain O’Brien capped off a memorable 2008/09 season when he won both the Best Bowler and Overall Cricketer of the Year accolades at Cricket Wellington’s end of season awards in April.

This recognition was the culmination of an outstanding season for O’Brien, taking 59 international wickets including 40 in 11 Tests against England, Bangladesh, Australia, the West Indies and India and a best innings bowling return of 6 for 75 against the West Indies in Napier in December 2008.

At the end of the 2008/09 New Zealand season, O’Brien had played in 70 first class matches including 17 Tests and was sitting on 249 wickets at an average of 25.22.

O’Brien made his first class debut for the Firebirds in 2000/01, but it was a terrific 2006/07 season that catapulted him to his current success, capturing 34 State Championship wickets including a memorable 13 for 117 in a first class match against Auckland at the Allied Nationwide Finance Basin Reserve.

O’Brien signed an English County contract with Leicestershire for the 2009 New Zealand winter.

O’Brien also writes a popular blog on Blogspot.