Born on 12th May 1962 in Christchurch, Canterbury, is former Test and ODI player for New Zealand, Karen Vivienne Gunn.
A right-hand middle order batter and right-arm slow-medium bowler, while also a wicket keeper, Karen was the full package when it comes to allrounders. She made her First Class debut for Canterbury in 1982/83 and stayed with the team throughout her career which spanned nearly a decade.1984/85 was a breakthrough season for Karen, making both her Test and ODI debut in two different countries, inside a month.
Her ODI debut was against Australia in Melbourne. Two weeks later she made her Test debut against India at Ahmedabad, taking 3-40, including the wicket of star opener, Sandhya Agarwal.
Karen would go on to play nine Test matches for New Zealand, scoring 194 runs, taking 11 wickets, 6 catches and a stumping.In an era where the short form of the game (ODI) was becoming dominant, during the same career Karen played 45 ODIs, which included performances at the 1988 and 1993 World Cups.
Her best seemed to come out against the Aussies in 1990 where she made her top score of 52 against them in Christchurch and took 5-22 at Lower Hutt. Karen’s final match for the White Ferns was in the final of the 1993 World Cup at Lords.