| Kevin Burns | |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Fullname: | Kevin James Burns |
| Birth Date: | 7 July 1960 |
| Birth Place: | Invercargill, New Zealand |
| Death Place: | Queenstown, New Zealand |
| Batting: | Left-handed |
| Bowling: | Right-arm medium |
| Role: | Batsman |
| Club1: | Southland |
| Club2: | Otago |
| Columns: | 2 |
| Hidedeliveries: | true |
| Column1: | First-class |
| Matches1: | 58 |
| Runs1: | 2,729 |
| Bat Avg1: | 29.03 |
| 100S/50S1: | 3/16 |
| Top Score1: | 136 |
| Deliveries1: | 84 |
| Wickets1: | 0 |
| Bowl Avg1: | – |
| Fivefor1: | – |
| Tenfor1: | – |
| Best Bowling1: | – |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 30/– |
| Column2: | List A |
| Matches2: | 31 |
| Runs2: | 497 |
| Bat Avg2: | 18.40 |
| 100S/50S2: | 0/3 |
| Top Score2: | 54 |
| Deliveries2: | 0 |
| Wickets2: | – |
| Bowl Avg2: | – |
| Fivefor2: | – |
| Tenfor2: | – |
| Best Bowling2: | – |
| Catches/Stumpings2: | 5/– |
| Date: | 24 May |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Source: | https://www.espncricinfo.com/cricketers/kevin-burns-36357 ESPNcricinfo |
Kevin James Burns (7 July 1960 – 20 May 2024) was a New Zealand cricketer. He played 58 first-class and 31 List A matches, all but one of them for Otago, between the 1980–81 and 1991–92 seasons.[1]
Burns was born at Invercargill in 1960.[2] He played for Southland in a December 1977 Hawke Cup match against Central Otago at Balclutha, and went on to play a total of 28 Hawke Cup matches for the side, with his final appearance in 1992. He captained Southland when they held the Hawke Cup between 1989 and 1992.[3] He played for Otago age-group sides before making his representative debut for the senior Otago side in December 1980 against Wellington at Molyneux Park in Alexandra.[4]
Primarily a batsman, Burns played in a total of 58 first-class matches and scored a total of 2,729 runs at a batting average of 29.03 runs per innings, including three centuries.[4] He set new record partnerships for Otago for the second wicket―putting on 254 runs batting with Ken Rutherford against Wellington in 1987/88―and for the fourth wicket―a partnership of 235 with Richard Hoskin against Northern Districts during the same season.[2] He played one match for a New Zealand XI against the touring England side, opening the batting in a match played between the first and second Test matches of a three match Test series in early 1988, but never played international cricket for New Zealand.[4] He played in 31 List A matches for Otago, scoring 497 runs, and made his final appearance for the provincial side in a January 1992 first-class fixture.[4]
Burns and his wife Lynne had three children. He died of cancer at his home in Queenstown, on 20 May 2024, at the age of 63.[5]