Craig McDermott and Sharon Tredrea inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame

The two were honored for their contributions to the game.

Craig McDermott was part of Australia's 1987 World Cup winning team

Former Australia fast bowler Craig McDermott and legendary women cricketer Sharon Tredrea have been inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame on Monday (February 10) at the annual Cricket Australia Awards 2020 ceremony in Melbourne.

McDermott, a brutal Australian fast bowler, played 71 Tests and 138 ODIs for his country in his international career spanning 12 years from 1984 to 1996, taking 291 and 138 wickets respectively and he was a key member of Allan Border’s team.

After retiring from the game, McDermott has served in a coaching capacity at the Centre of Excellence and unearthed talents like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson for Australia. He was also the fast bowling coach of the national team in 2011.

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On the other hand, two-time World Cup-winning captain Sharon, who was regarded as one of the quickest bowlers to play the women's game, has played 10 Tests, 35 ODIs for Australia Women between 1973 and 1988 and she participated in four World Cups in her career.

Sharon Tredrea | GettyPeter King, the Hall of Fame chairman, stated: “Sharon and Craig are well-deserved inductees into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame to join an elite group of people who have given so much to cricket, the game we love. Craig remains one of Australia's standout fast bowlers after a stellar playing and coaching career.”

He continued, “He endured his fair share of injury given the rigors of pace bowling over a long period of time but fought back each time, highlighting his mental and physical toughness. Craig led the Australian attack through a difficult period of recovery under Allan Border, ultimately starting the following eras of success for the Australian men's team.”

Paying tribute to Sharon, King said: “Sharon was a trailblazer of the women's game during her career at a time when opportunities for our women's cricketers were few and there was little or no funding available to them. She was a fierce competitor on the field, who always strived for the ultimate performance, but was equally gracious off the field.”

Meanwhile, she said of the honor: “I've seen other people being inducted and thought, ''Gee, that's really something''. It's an amazing honor, I never thought it would be something that would be bestowed on me because it's a personal award, and I'm more a team person. It's a weird feeling, maybe because I've come from an era that nobody was really that au fait with in terms of cricket.”

While McDermott said: “Does it mean that I'm old? Or I'm nearly dead? I'm not sure. It's a great thing to achieve and be part of such an elite bunch of men and women players that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.”

(With cricket.com.au/foxsports.com.au/ICC Inputs)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 10 Feb, 2020

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