Melissa collects inaugural award

TALENT TO BURN: Melissa Hansen with the Trish McKelvey Medal.

Wairarapa College student Melissa Hansen has carved a special niche for herself in cricket.

The 17-year-old, whose impressive CV already includes repping for Central Districts at senior women's and age group level, plays for Johnsonville in the Wellington premier division women's competition. Her efforts have led to her being the first recipient of an award named after one of the country's most distinguished female players.

It is the Trish McKelvey Medal, introduced by Cricket Wellington in the 2013-14 season to "encourage, recognise and reward the best behaviour and performance of players involved in the game".

The medal is named after Patricia (Trish) McKelvey, who was captain of the New Zealand women's team in the 1960s and 1970s.

She scored 699 runs in 15 test matches against England, Australia, India and South Africa, including an innings of 155 not out against England at the Basin Reserve in 1969.

At the time, it was the highest score by a New Zealand player in a test at the Basin Reserve.

McKelvey was one of only three New Zealand women to score more than one test century, her 699 test runs are the third highest on record.

She also played in 15 one-day internationals at a time when one-day cricket was just starting and served on the New Zealand Women's Cricket Board and then later on the board of New Zealand Cricket.

She is a life member of New Zealand Cricket and Cricket Wellington.

McKelvey was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to women's cricket in the 1981 Queen's Birthday Honours and, in 2005, was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education.

Her involvement in that field included a teaching stint at Solway College in Masterton.

The McKelvey Medal is decided by a 3, 2, 1 points system with the points being allocated by the opposition captain at the conclusion of each match with the highest points-scorer at the end of the season taking the honours.

And not only did Hansen lead the points list there she was also second top-run scorer over the club season and runner-up on the Crichq Most Valuable Player table for the Twenty20 and 40-over competitions, behind only Wellington Blaze player Andrea Stockwell.

Hansen will now spend the winter preparing for the Under-20 Indoor Cricket World Cup to be held in Wellington from October 18-25.

She is in the New Zealand training squad from which 12 players will be selected to participate in that tournament.