Kim Cotton has made history in becoming the first female umpire to stand in a men’s international match between two ICC full-member countries.
Auckland-born Cotton umpired New Zealand’s nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of their three-match series in Dunedin.
The 45-year-old has previously umpired in 16 women’s one-day international matches and 44 women’s T20Is. She was one of the on-field umpires for both the 2022 Women’s World Cup final (50-over) and the 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup final in February.
Claire Polosak was the first female umpire in a men’s international in 2019 when she stood in a one-day match between Oman and Namibia, both associate nations.
Polosak had also become the first female match official in a men’s Test match when she was the fourth umpire during a Test match between India and Australia in Sydney in 2022.
In the game between New Zealand and Sri Lanka on Tuesday, Adam Milne took T20I career-best figures of 5-26, while Tim Seifert struck an unbeaten 79 as the Black Caps won convincingly to level the series at 1-1.
Seifert smashed six sixes in his 43-ball blitz as New Zealand romped to their 142-run target with 32 balls to spare. Sri Lanka’s sloppy catching did not help their cause, as they dropped both Seifert and captain Tom Latham (20no).
Earlier, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 141 in 19 overs. Dhananjaya de Silva top-scored with 37, while Kusal Perera added 35 and Charith Asalanka 24 before Milne blasted out the tail.
Sri Lanka, who had won the opening match on Sunday via a thrilling Super Over finish, lost their last eight wickets for 50 runs, with Milne claiming three in the final over.
Queenstown will host the final T20 on Saturday.
