Vivian Sherill Stephens (; 8 November 1953 – 5 September 2021) was a New Zealand

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played primarily as a right-handed batter. She appeared in two

One Day Internationals A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World Cu ...

for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

at the

1978 World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by ...

. She played domestic cricket for

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and

Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...

. Stephens was born in Foxton, in New Zealand's

Manawatū-Whanganui Manawatū-Whanganui (; spelled Manawatu-Wanganui prior to 2019) is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawat ...

region. While studying teaching, she played for a men's team, as there was no organised women's cricket in her area at the time. She later began to play club cricket in

, and eventually for the Wellington representative team."Cricket: Hopes How will play in other formats"
''Hawke's Bay Today'', 2 December 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2016. In 1976 Stephens toured India with New Zealand, playing two three-day first-class matches against the Indian national team. She scored 17 runs across three innings. In 1978, Stephens was selected in New Zealand's squad for the World Cup in India. She made her

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

(ODI) debut in the first game of the tournament, scoring nine runs coming in sixth in the batting order against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Her only other match at the tournament came against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where she scored just three runs before being dismissed by

Jacqueline Court Jacqueline Margaret "Jackie" Court (born 22 January 1950) is an English former cricketer who played as a right-handed batter and right-arm leg break bowler. She appeared in 17 Test matches and 23 One Day Internationals for England between 1 ...

. After moving to Napier, where her husband worked, Stephens helped to establish a Central Districts women's team. The team began play during the 1978–79 season and was admitted to the national competition the following season. Follow her retirement from playing, Stephens remained involved in cricket as an administrator. She became a board member of the

Central Districts Cricket Association The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a First-class cricket, first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the ...

in 2000, representing the

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

region. She remained on the board until December 2014, also serving as a member of the association's management committee. Stephens additionally served as a tournament official at the 2000 Women's World Cup, which New Zealand hosted. In November 2015, she was made a life member of the CDCA. Stephens died in Napier on 5 September 2021.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Viv 1953 births 2021 deaths People from Foxton, New Zealand Wellington Blaze cricketers Central Districts Hinds cricketers New Zealand women cricketers New Zealand women One Day International cricketers