Shawn Hicks
Shawn Hicks is a South African-born former cricketer who played in New Zealand for Auckland [cricket team|Auckland] and Otago between the 2015–16 and 2018–19 seasons. After being forced to retire from the professional game at the age of 23 he has worked as a cricket coach and administrator.
Hicks was born at Centurion in 1995 and played under-13 cricket for Northerns in South Africa before moving to New Zealand with his family, attending Auckland Grammar School. An all-round sportsman at school, he was a "very promising" rugby union player and was selected for a national training squad. He played age-group cricket for Auckland and represented the New Zealand national [under-19 cricket team] before making his first-class debut on 17 December 2015 in the 2015–16 [Plunket Shield season|2015–16 Plunket Shield]. He made his List A debut on 27 December 2015 in the 2015–16 Ford Trophy. In June 2018, he was awarded a contract with Otago for the 2018–19 season, his last in senior cricket, and, aged 23, was forced to retire from the game at the end of the season as a result of a series of concussions, following on from similar injuries he received whilst playing rugby.
In 17 first-class matches Hicks scored 651 runs and took seven wickets. He also played in 26 List A and 16 Twenty20 matches in his senior career. Following his retirement from cricket he completed a degree in accounting, worked in administration for a year and has since moved to work for Sport Otago. He has coached the Otago under-17 side, the John McGlashan College team, and in 2022–23 coached University-Grange Cricket Club, a leading Dunedin club side, as well as assisting with the coaching of the Otago Sparks, the province's top-level women's side.