Belinda Clark: Australia legend becomes first female cricketer to have statue

2 years ago 51

Belinda Clark adjacent to her statue astatine the Sydney Cricket Ground

Former Australia skipper Belinda Clark has go the archetypal pistillate cricketer to person a statue formed of her, with a bronze sculpture unveiled astatine the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Clark retired from the athletics successful 2005 aft winning 2 World Cups.

During her 14-year vocation she deed the archetypal treble period successful a one-day international, smashing 229 not retired against Denmark successful 1997.

"The sculpture encapsulates being capable to person a go," Clark said.

"To beryllium courageous, to instrumentality connected those challenges and interruption convention.

"I privation radical to instrumentality distant that you tin bash thing you privation if you enactment your caput to it and you person bully radical astir you, and I deliberation I've been precise fortunate to person had large enactment and person a spot of an imaginativeness to instrumentality my crippled wherever I wanted to instrumentality it, and hopefully the athletics is successful a amended spot for it."

Clark played 15 Tests and 118 ODIs for Australia, averaging much than 45 successful some formats.

She is Australia's starring Test and ODI run-scorer successful women's cricket, with her highest Test people of 136 coming against England successful 1998.

She captained Australia successful 101 ODIs, finishing with a triumph complaint of 83%, and besides holds the associated grounds for astir ODI hundreds successful a twelvemonth with 3 successful 1997.

At the home level Clark won 7 Women's National Cricket League titles - 5 with New South Wales and 2 with Victoria.

The grant for the champion pistillate Australian cricketer of the twelvemonth is besides named aft Clark.

Clark has held roles astatine Women's Cricket Australia, the Australian Cricket Academy and the International Cricket Council's Women's Committee since retiring from playing.

The statue was unveiled connected Thursday, earlier day 2 of the 3rd Test betwixt Australia and South Africa, and stands alongside erstwhile captains of the men's squad Richie Benaud and Steve Waugh.

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