Leading by example: Blackwell enters Australian Cricket Hall of Fame

Alex Blackwell lifted a T20 World Cup as Australian captain, won Ashes series both at home and abroad and finished her career with more international caps than any woman before her.

But when asked to recall the proudest moment of her 252-game career, Blackwell's mind instead turned to December 13, 2004 – the day she first wore the green and gold alongside her identical twin sister Kate.

Even now, her profile picture on Instagram is a photograph of the Blackwell twins from that day.

"Kate and I in our floppy hats and in the green and gold, (playing) with captain Belinda Clark and our other heroes like Lisa Sthalekar, Lisa Keightley, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Karen Rolton – what an amazing group we got to play with and learn from," Blackwell, the latest inductee into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, told cricket.com.au this week.

"It is my greatest highlight of my career, taking the field with Kate in the Australian colours ... one-dayers first, then Test matches, and then we did play T20s together too – we played in the very first T20 for Australia, so Belinda Clark is (T20I cap) number one, and I'm number two, and Kate's number three."

Alex Blackwell's career stats

Test Matches

 

P 12 | Runs 444 | Avg 22.20 | High 74 | 50s 4

 

One-Day Internationals

 

P 144 | Runs 3,492 | Avg 36 | High 114 | 100s 3 | 50s 25

 

T20 Internationals

 

P 94 | Runs 1,314 | Avg 21.19 | SR 96.92 | High 61 | 50s 1

Alex – born 10 minutes before Kate – had made her own Australian debut almost two years earlier, in a one-day international against England in Lincoln, on New Zealand's South Island.

Her selection, which came off the back of promising performances for New South Wales, came as somewhat of a surprise to the then-19-year-old university student.

"I do remember vividly where I was, (it was) after my first year of study in a medical degree at UNSW, I was on uni break, and just staying in a rental house somewhere, and I got a call from Rina Hore, who was the chair of selectors at the time," Blackwell recalled.

"It was not something I was expecting – I'd completed a reasonable debut season with the New South Wales Breakers the season before, and then during my second summer with the Breakers, that's when I was given the call up to the Aussie squad.

"Telling my family that this had just happened was a real thrill, and they were all very happy for me - including Kate … it's not always easy being twins and (but she gave me) her remarkable support from the very beginning, and managing disappointment when it hadn't quite happened (for her) as soon as it did for me.

"But I had to ask Rina, 'Okay, so where's the Australian team touring then?' Because I had no idea."

Those first couple of games were something of an inauspicious start to what would become one of Australia's most decorated and enduring careers. On debut, Blackwell produced a run out but was not required to bat as the Aussies cruised to a seven-wicket win.

In her second match, this time against India in the same quadrangular series, she, in her own words, "took like 27 balls to get off the mark, something crazy" before going on to score 27. She also got the chance to roll her arm over – something that happened just seven times in her 15-year international career – and picked up two wickets.

But the selectors had a long-term plan in mind as they plotted their path to the 2005 ODI World Cup, and Blackwell was firmly part of that vision.

"I felt I was picked pretty early, and I think at that time, yes, I'd had a few good innings for New South Wales, but they really had the 50-over World Cup on their radar in 2005 and it's a four-year cycle for those 50-over World Cups and T20s weren't invented yet," she said.

"So they probably did onboard me into that Australian side, perhaps, on potential, and I'm very grateful for the trust and faith they showed in me, because it did take me a little while to get going and find my feet at that higher level."

Kate Blackwell joined her sister in the Australian team for their 2004 tour of India. In a twist of fate befitting Australia's only other pair of cricketing twins, Alex was dropped to make way for her sister's debut in Mysore.

But they were reunited a game later, taking the field together in an ODI in Vapi as they became just the second set of twins to represent Australia after Steve and Mark Waugh – and the first set of identical twins.

Today, Alex Blackwell is joining the Waughs in the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, in an acknowledgement of her 252-game, 15-year international career that included three T20I World Cup wins – including one as captain – and two ODI World Cup triumphs.

The now-42-year-old was Australia's most-capped player when she ended her career and scored 5,250 runs across all formats including 444 in Tests, 3492 in ODIs and 1314 in T20Is, with her three one-day international hundreds among the highlights.

At domestic level, Blackwell won 14 Women's National Cricket League titles and two national T20 championships with the NSW Breakers, with nine of these titles coming as NSW captain, and led the Sydney Thunder to the inaugural WBBL title.

Blackwell has also made an enormous contribution as a leader and advocate for diversity and inclusion, forging a reputation as someone not afraid to speak out and stand up for her beliefs, including in her ongoing support for the LGBTQIA+ community.

"It was a huge surprise," Blackwell said of her reaction to her Hall of Fame induction.

"It's certainly not something I ever expected.

"Legends – Belinda Clark, Don Bradman, my heroes – just to be alongside them is something I can't quite believe."

***

In 2005, both Blackwell twins featured in a defining moment in the women's game in this country: Australia's first ever T20 International match, against England in Taunton.

Alex was not required to bat in Australia's seven-wicket win, while Kate struck an unbeaten 43 from 38 deliveries.

The shortest form of the game would go on to be a major driver in both the professionalisation and higher profile of women's cricket in Australia, initially through double-headers played alongside the men, followed by the introduction of the T20 World Cup and T20 franchise leagues including the Women's Big Bash.

The arrival of the T20 game would also lead to a defining moment in Blackwell's career: lifting the World Cup trophy in Barbados in 2010.

"In terms of (career) highlights, it's very difficult to go past captaining Australia in 2010 at the T20 World Cup and being successful there as a side," Blackwell said.

"There were many challenges we overcame to get ourselves into the final and then to find a way to defend 106 runs ... that was a very special time, because I learned a lot about leading as well.

"My style was really to leverage the skills of everybody around me.

"I was a young leader and I had experience captaining all through underage programs with New South Wales, but it was a step up to lead Australia.

"We weren't favoured to win. We'd lost many in a row against New Zealand in that format – but then we found a way.

"We won a Super Over in round one, got through our semi against India, and then found ourselves against our old foe New Zealand ... and we beat (them) for the first time in a long time.

"(There was Ellyse) Perry bowling that last over, many amazing efforts on the field, Renee Farrell and Shelley Nitschke on the boundary and Ellyse's famous right boot that stopped that last ball that was hit by Sophie Devine.

"It's an iconic moment that I'm a part of and I treasure."

***

When posed the question of how she views her legacy in the game, Blackwell was typically thoughtful and considered.

"I was always someone who promoted inclusivity and teamwork, I think," she said.

"Teamwork within the various Australian teams I was a part of, and then inclusivity within the game more broadly.

"To be able to talk respectfully and confidently on challenging topics as well within the sport - I've been a bit of an agitator for positive change, so I think people would probably remember me for that.

"Always looking to push for equality, really, for everybody (so that cricket) is a sport for everyone.

"I've wanted to live that authentically, and I've brought the sport along with me at times.

"An example of that would be being a strong advocate for trans and gender diverse inclusion in cricket and I'm very proud to say that (Australian) cricket is a leader in that regard.

"And we were the first major sport to get our community and elite trans inclusion policies delivered, and while we haven't had any transgender players at WBBL or WNCL, the policies are in place, and it demonstrates that all are welcome, and I'm proud to have been a part of that, because I think it's really important especially in the climate today."

This advocacy remains front of mind for Blackwell, who has cast a worried eye to attacks on LQBTQIA+ rights overseas and the rise of anti-trans sentiment both in Australia and worldwide.

For a woman who was the first female cricketer to come out to the broader public, and who married her wife, former England player Lynsey Askew, in the United Kingdom in 2015, two years before she was a prominent voice in helping to achieve the same marriage equality in Australia, there is no room for complacency.

"I did take that step to be publicly out, and mostly because I felt it was the right thing for me as an individual to live my best life, and I then did hope it would become easier for others," Blackwell said.

"To see role models like that I think is really important for young people."

Eight years on from her international retirement, Blackwell – who recently welcomed her second child with Askew – is a regular behind the microphone, commentating on international and Big Bash cricket.

It's a sign of how the game has changed, given that growing up, she wasn't able to tune into women's cricket. Instead, her childhood heroes were – unsurprisingly – the Waugh twins.

She has also embraced the opportunity to mentor up-and-coming cricketers as a coach, while continuing her work in genetic counselling – the career that for a long time, ran parallel to international cricket prior to the professionalisation of the women's game.

"I feel like a lot's happened since I stopped playing ... I've crammed a lot in," Blackwell reflected.

"I've had two kids, I've continued on with my genetic counselling – my other career – and I've done my high-performance coaching course … I absolutely loved that, I did that last year, and diving into coaching.

"(I'm) just really discovering how cricket's the gift that keeps on giving in my mind, now being involved as a coach and thinking how to bring the best out of teams and how to promote learning and development in individual players.

"I'm fascinated by the game still, and it's just a different perspective on it that I'm privileged to still be involved, and I get to commentate as well.

"I just feel like more and more I'm learning about the amazing cricket family that connects us all.

"(Whether) you've played club cricket, or you've played a Test match, we're all a part of this amazing game, which I am appreciating more and more.

"I love that I'm a part of the cricket family, it really is part of our DNA as Australians, this game, so to then have my name in this incredible Hall of Fame, is very special to me – I'm deeply honoured."