On Thursday, a new statue will be unveiled at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and for the first time it will be of a female cricketer.
Cricket fans have hotly debated who the mystery statue belongs to, with legendary NSW figures Belinda Clark, Ellyse Perry and Lisa Sthalekar tied as the best candidates.
Others preferred to see cricketers of the past months, figures such as Betty Wilson and Margaret Peden, who ensured that the following generations had a platform to play the game they loved.
Belinda Clark and Ellyse Perry are two giants of Australian women’s cricket who fans say could be the first female statues
‘I hope they start from scratch, Margaret Peden, Australia’s first captain. Then work their way through a long list of eligible women for years to come,’ noted statistician Rick Eyre posted on Twitter.
‘Ellyse Perry should get one but I believe no player should get this kind of award while they are still playing. Once fully retired,’ wrote another.
Ahead of Thursday’s unveiling, Daily Mail Australia discusses the possible players who could be immortalized.
Belinda Clark
Belinda Clark is the most likely candidate to be immortalized as a statue at the SCG because of her incredible status and legacy in the game that continues to this day.
The most obvious candidate to have the first statue is the legendary Belinda Clark. A pioneer of the game on and off the field, Clark is considered by many to be the greatest female player of all time.
She was the first player – of either gender – to score a double century in an ODI, and captained Australia to two World Cup titles, as well as seven domestic championships.
Not only was Clark the ultimate technician who averaged 46 in 118 ODI’s and 15 Tests; she was the most humble, well-spoken role model for kids at a time when women’s cricket was finally starting to gain some traction in the public eye as fans realized what talent there was to behold.
His immense contribution to Australian cricket continues to this day, with the legend immediately acting flawlessly in important off-field roles after retirement. After coaching elite juniors, Clark, who went to Harvard Business School, took a prominent role in Cricket Australia, before managing the Australian Cricket Academy in Brisbane, and was responsible for many talented players making their international debut.
She was also on the International Cricket Council’s women’s committee for over a decade, and is in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame thanks to her incredible contribution to the sport.
His flawless cover drive made a brilliant pose for a statue.
Betty Wilson
Betty Wilson, pictured playing in England in 1951, was one of the greatest allrounders to ever play the game, and paved the way for many other cricketers after her.
One of the greatest allrounders to ever play the game, Wilson was the first cricketer of either gender to score a century and take 10 wickets in a Test. The right-handed batter, off-spinner and brilliant fielder represented Australia on both sides of World War II, and was the first female cricketer to be inducted into the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame.
His 862 runs @ 57 and 68 wickets @ 11 from just 11 Tests highlighted how special his talent was. He paved the way for the Clarks, Perrys and Lannings of generations to come.
Ellyse Perry
No doubt Perry, who will go down as one of our greatest cricketers, will be immortalized in bronze outside the SCG one day. The 32-year-old is the youngest player of either gender to make his international debut for Australia when he came on strong as a 16-year-old tearaway.
There really isn’t anything he hasn’t achieved in the game – and he still has many years left in his incredible career. Not only was she a brilliant cricketer, like Clark, Perry became an amazing role model as women’s cricket became more visible and appreciated by fans, and inspired a whole generation of little ‘Pez’s’.
Ellyse Perry will go down as one of the greatest female cricketers of all time, but her career is far from over and there is much more to come.
She holds the record for the highest score (213*) in a Women’s Test, won seven World Cups with Australia; and dominated at the state level with 11 WNCL championships and two WBBL titles with the Sixers. There really isn’t any aspect of the game that he doesn’t legitimately claim as the best in the world.
His time is uncertain now, but it will come one day, and the kids will enjoy a spontaneous game of cricket at Pez’s future statue.
Lisa Sthalekar
Sthalekar was on the committee that decided who would be the inaugural female statue, but hey: she qualifies as anyone.
The off-spinning allrounder is also one of the best fielders Australia has ever produced, and was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2020. The first women to score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets in ODIs, the ‘Shaker’ is the absolute professional who has won many world titles for the country from his back.
Lisa Sthalekar was a superstar of the game for the Sydney Sixers, NSW and Australia, and her legacy continues past her playing days as a leading commentator and former elite development coach
Like Clark, Sthalekar not only achieved everything on the field of cricket; he assured that the game will continue to improve in retirement. After many years developing women’s cricket at CricketNSW, the talented commentator now takes the world by storm commentating and sharing her incredible cricket brain for the world to hear.
Margaret Peden
Peden, who has a junior league named after her in several Aussie states, was our country’s first captain, and founded the Australian Women’s Cricket Council in 1930.
Simply put, the women’s game Down Under wouldn’t exist without Peden. The talented
Zoe Goss
WA allrounder Zoe Goss made the world take notice when she bowled out Brian Lara in a charity game at the SCG in 1994
While Goss is a Western Australian personality, his most iconic moment came at the SCG in 1994 when he bowled out one of the greatest batters to ever play the game: Brian Lara.
The towering quick with the bat was also strong, and gave women’s cricket one of its first iconic moments in the public eye. Unfortunately for Goss, he would have been made a statue in his home state if not for the ludicrous misogyny of a murdered senior WACA member.
Faith Thomas
Homegrown cricketers Faith Thomas (left) and Ash Gardener (right) lit up the test for many youngsters
Thomas only played one Test for Australia, but his legacy goes beyond what he did on a sporting field
When Faith Thomas stepped onto the turf at Melbourne’s Junction Oval for her Test debut in 1958, she became the first Indigenous women to represent Australia in ANY sport.
The Indigenous nurse was a dominant force on the Adelaide grade cricket scene in the 1950s, and while statistics on his impact on the field are relatively few, what is clear is that his legacy extends beyond the picket fence and inspired First Nations people all over. of the place. Australia.
And it made it possible for players like current Indigenous superstar Ash Gardener to thrive on the grandest stage.
