BelindaClark

Belinda Clark is a two-time World Cup winning captain and the holder of multiple cricketing records for Australia. 

Regarded as one of the greatest cricketers of all time, Clark’s contributions to the sport stretch far beyond the field. 

The wrist work developed growing up with the dream of becoming a tennis champion was evident on Clark’s Test debut against India in 1991, as she announced herself with a century at North Sydney Oval. 

Handed the Australian captaincy in 1993, Clark would go on to lead the team to an extended period of domination, including 16 and 17-match ODI winning streaks.  

Clark took the cricketing world by storm when she became the first batter, woman or man, to hit a double hundred in an ODI when she scored 229 not out against Denmark at the 1997 World Cup in India. It stood as the record for highest Women’s ODI score until Amelia Kerr bettered it with a 232 not out in 2018. 

In the final of that 1997 tournament, Clark led her side to a victory against New Zealand with a half-century in front of a packed Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Her total of 970 runs that year remains a record for the most runs in a single calendar year in Women's ODIs. 

Having drawn the series in 1998, Clark led Australia to an Ashes win in 2001, defeating England 2-0. Her team then retained the trophy in 2002-03. 

2005 – the final year of Clark’s playing career – was an eventful one. She won her second World Cup as the Australian captain but had an unsuccessful Ashes series. 

Clark’s career had overlapped a period of transition in the women’s game, and it was apt that she got to call curtains on it after captaining Australia in their first official Women’s T20I. 

Clark continues to be a leader in cricket, having taken up several managerial and executive roles within Australian and international cricket. She also runs several leadership programs for women and girls. 

Clark became the first woman to be inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2018, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia. 

The highest individual award in Australian women’s cricket is named after her, with the prestigious Belinda Clark Award presented at the annual Australian Cricket Awards at the end of each home international season.