In addition to his international cricket career, Colin Munro (born 11 March 1987) is a South African-born New Zealander who plays limited overs formats of the game for New Zealand. There was a time when he was a member of the New Zealand Under 19 team, and he is currently a member of the Auckland cricket team.
The youngest of four boys, Munro was born in early spring, 1987, with three older brothers who preceded him in age. A graduate of Maidstone Primary School in Tongaat, he then went on to Pakuranga College where he played for the school’s 1st XI cricket team after moving to New Zealand. It was in 2006 that Munro represented New Zealand at the Under-19 Cricket World Cup that was held in Sri Lanka.
In his 15 years as a professional cricketer, Colin Munro has earned a reputation as one of New Zealand’s most reliable big hitters because he is a left-handed left-hander with strong shots square of the wicket.
In the 2015-16 Georgie Pie Super Smash, Munro scored 366 runs at a strike rate of 175 and hit a tournament-high strike rate of 366 runs at an average of 175 for 12 wickets to clinch the title. He had made his international debut in 2012 and had been in and out of the limited-overs teams since then.
He was able to maintain his position in New Zealand’s top order for the duration of that run of form. As soon as he became aware of his place, he justified it. Against Sri Lanka at Eden Park, he scored a half-century in just 14 balls, which was the fastest half-century by a New Zealand batsman in T20 cricket.
It was his quick runs against Pakistan in the following series which saw him assume the No. 3 spot for New Zealand’s 2016 World T20 campaign as a result of his quick runs in that series.
In 2006, Munro made his first-class debut for Auckland, but he did not make a lot of impact in the longer format of the game until the 2011-12 season when he scored five fifties and a century for the team.
As the seasons progressed, he was able to score three centuries in six innings, including a whirlwind unbeaten 269 off 252 balls against Wellington as part of the next season.
After being called up to the New Zealand squad for the tour to South Africa, he played three Twenty20 internationals on the first day of that tour and was rewarded with a place in the squad. It wasn’t long before he made his Test debut, at Port Elizabeth, in the second Test, which was played a few weeks later.
