Former Australia captain Belinda Clark has become the first female cricketer to have her statue unveiled at the Sydney Cricket Ground’s Walk of Honour.
The statue was unveiled on the second day of the third men’s Test match between Australia and South Africa. Clark is the 15th sportsperson and third woman to have a statue as part of the SCG sculpture project, according to the statement released to mark the occasion. The other two are sprinters Betty Cuthbert and Marlene Matthews.
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“I’m excited to have the sculpture in place and for people to now look at it and perhaps wonder what that is, who that is and to be able to tell a bit of a story is really important. The sculpture encapsulates being able to have a go – to be courageous, to take on those challenges and break convention,” Clark said.
“I want people to take away that you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it and you have good people around you, and I think I’ve been very fortunate to have had great support and have a bit of an imagination to take my game where I wanted to take it, and hopefully the sport is in a better place for it,” she added.
Clark made her international debut in 1991 in an ODI against New Zealand before scoring a century on her Test debut against India two weeks later.
She became captain in 1993 and led Australian women to their third and fourth World Cup titles in 1997 and 2005. At the 1997 World Cup, Clark became the first batter to score an ODI double hundred when she smashed 229 runs off 155 balls against Denmark. Sachin Tendulkar later became the first male player to score a double hundred 13 years later.
Clark played 15 Tests and scored 919 runs while her tally of 4,884 runs in 118 ODIs is an Australian women’s game record. Australia’s annual award for the best female cricketer is named after Clark.
Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said, “I am absolutely thrilled that Belinda Clark has been honoured with a sculpture in the SCG precinct and becomes the first female cricketer to receive this recognition.
“Belinda not only compiled a superb playing record for Australia as a batter and captain; she helped inspire the current generation of cricketers and, as an administrator, has had a profound impact on community cricket and the growth in participation.
“On behalf of Australian Cricket, I would like to congratulate Belinda whose sculpture will stand very proudly alongside all the other sporting greats recognised in the SCG precinct.”
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