Former Australia women's team captain and four-time World Cup winner Lisa Sthalekar has been inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame on Friday (February 5).
Sthalekar, one of the finest all-rounders in women's cricket, has been hailed as a “cricket trailblazer” and her enormous contribution as a player to the game and now commenting and standing in the game has been duly recognized with the latest honor.
The all-rounder played 8 Tests, 125 ODIs, and 54 T20Is from 2003-2013 and ended up with 416, 2728, and 769 runs respectively. She also picked more than 229 scalps in international cricket with her off-spin.
She has served also served on the board of the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) and as a director with the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA).
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Peter King, Australian Cricket Hall of Fame Chairman, said: “Lisa Sthlalekar comfortably sits at the table of Women's cricket trailblazers alongside Belinda Clark, Karen Rolton, and Melanie Jones, and the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame is delighted to welcome her as the latest inductee.”
King further added, “As the Australian Women's Cricket Team conquers all before them, it has been Lisa's passion and skill as a cricketer and her courage and determination in her post-cricket career, that has driven elite standards of professionalism in the Women's game.
She left the sport as a four-time World Cup winner and a plethora of personal accolades, but has continued to advocate and champion the Women's game as an administrator, commentator, and ambassador.”
Meanwhile, Sthlalekar’s former teammate and Australian Cricketers' Association board member Clea Smith said: “Lisa is a very worthy inductee into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. On the field, her stats with both bat and ball speak for themselves. She was one of the fiercest competitors going around but always managed to do it with a smile on her face.
Off the field, she has been every bit as impressive, using her voice and influence to break through barriers and advance the women's game from the grassroots through to the professional level. Young girls playing cricket today have a path to playing the game professionally thanks to people like Lisa who have helped pave the way.”
While another former teammate Mel Jones, who is a Cricket Australia board member, said: “Lisa thoroughly deserves to be inducted in the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. She now rightfully sits among the absolute elite cricketers of the women's game, joining Belinda Clark, Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Betty Wilson, and Karen Rolton as members of both the Australian and ICC Cricket Halls of Fame.”
Jones signed off by saying, “I was fortunate enough to play with Lisa and witness her develop as an outstanding all-rounder in all three formats of cricket. Since retiring, Lisa has been a commentating mainstay around the world and not only continues to play an important role in building the profile of women's cricket but more importantly is a strong voice across both the men's and women's game.
This induction is a fantastic recognition of Lisa's hard work and on behalf of Cricket Australia, I want to congratulate Lisa for her incredible contribution to the game on and off the field.”
(With Cricbuzz Inputs)
