Club: Karori

Wellington Firebirds debut: v Northern Knights 2010-11 (first-class)
Best bat: 141 v Central Stags 2010-11 (first-class)

Stephen Murdoch’s name was on every cricket followers lips In January after his commanding match winning 225 not out off just 157 balls to help the Powerade Wellington U23s to an exhilarating 50-over win over their Auckland annual counterparts at the inaugural National U23 tournament at Lincoln.

Chasing 356 for victory, Murdoch batted beautifully to guide us to a hugely satisfying 3-wicket win with 5 balls to spare. Starting off slowly he then exploded and his innings eventually included 156 runs in boundaries. He cleared the boundary rope to hit the winning runs off the first ball of the last over.

The double century for Murdoch came hot on the heels of his scores of 79 and 156 against Otago in the three-day tournament opener earlier in the week. In four innings he scored 498 runs, using this tournament as a springboard to forcing his way into the Wellington Firebirds for the remainder of the season.

For the Firebirds, he went on to play six Plunket Shield matches and scored 532 runs with a highest score of 141 and top scored with 57 in his two domestic One-Day competition matches. He was selected as one of three promising players in the 2011 New Zealand cricket Almanack.

Murdoch scored a century against the Central Stags in the opening Plunket Shield match of the 2011-12 season and reached 1,000 first-class runs whilst batting for Wellington at home at the Hawkins Basin Reserve agaisnt the Otago Volts at the end of November.

Playing style: Top order bat

Nickname: Stove

Secondary school attended: St. Patrick’s College, Wellington

Club: Karori

 Earliest cricket memory: Playing in the schoolyard at lunchtime

 Favourite ground to play cricket on: The Hawkins Basin Reserve

 Most memorable cricket moment: Scoring my maiden first-class ton

If I could bat/bowl in partnership with any cricketer from any era I would chose: Sir Don Bradman – to bat with the best ever

Favourite player growing up: Shane Warne - For his ability and competitive nature

The non-cricketing sports person or team I most admire: Phil ‘the Power’ Taylor

If I wasn’t a Firebirds cricketer I’d be: Working for the BNZ bank

Favourite superhero: Superman

Favourite book/magazine: The Alchemist

Favourite holiday destination: Croatia

If I was in a band I would play the: Guitar

In my spare time I like to: Play Darts

My signature dish is: Homemade gourmet burgers