Former Australian captain and one of the world’s elite spin-bowling all-rounders, Lisa Sthalekar, has been inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.
One of the world’s elite spin-bowling all-rounders, Sthalekar’s career includes eight Tests, 125 One Day Internationals and 54 T20 Internationals for Australia from 2001-13, scoring almost 4,000 runs (3,913 – including three centuries).
Sthalekar was a member of four Australian World Cup-winning teams across the ODI and T20 formats and captained Australia in three ODIs against New Zealand in 2006. She was named Women’s International Cricketer of the Year in 2007, and was awarded the Belinda Clark Medal – recognising Australia’s best women’s international cricketer – in 2007 and 2008. In August 2020, she became the 27th Australian to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Since retiring from the game after the 2013 World Cup win in Mumbai, Sthalekar has been a strong advocate for the increased professionalism of the women’s game through serving on the board of the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) and as a director with the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA).
Her involvement in cricket also extends through to her work as a leading broadcast commentator in some of the game’s pre-eminent competitions, including the KFC BBL and rebel WBBL, along with the Indian Premier League.
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," he said.
“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.
“As the most recent Australian to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, we are now honoured to welcome her to the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame,” King said.
Clea Smith, former teammate and Australian Cricketers’ Association board member, said:
“Lisa is a very worthy inductee into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame," she said.
“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 breakthrough 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,” Smith said.
Mel Jones, former teammate and 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," he said.
“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 the women’s cricket but more importantly is a strong voice across both the men’s and women’s game.
“This induction is 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," Jones said.
About the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame
The Australian Cricket Hall of Fame was first proposed by the Melbourne Cricket Club in 1995.
With the support of Cricket Australia and Cricket Victoria, the Hall of Fame was officially opened by the then Prime Minister of Australia, the Honourable John Howard MP in 1996.
The selection philosophy for the hall of fame focuses on the players’ status as sporting legends in addition to their outstanding statistical records.
The selection panel is made up of representatives from all levels of cricket. Chaired by the current MCC Cricket Chairman, three former players are joined by the respective CEOs of Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association, along with two representatives from the media.
All inductees must have been retired from international cricket for a minimum of five years to be eligible for selection.
An inaugural group of ten players were inducted in 1996, and a further 44 players have been welcomed since:
Hall of Fame inductees
Inducted 1996 - Fred Spofforth, John Blackham, Victor Trumper, Clarrie Grimmett, Bill Ponsford, Sir Donald Bradman, Bill O’Reilly, Keith Miller, Ray Lindwall and Dennis Lillee
Inducted 2000 - Warwick Armstrong, Neil Harvey and Allan Border
Inducted 2001 - Bill Woodfull and Arthur Morris
Inducted 2002 - Stan McCabe and Greg Chappell
Inducted 2003 - Lindsay Hassett and Ian Chappell
Inducted 2004 - Hugh Trumble and Alan Davidson
Inducted 2005 - Clem Hill and Rod Marsh
Inducted 2006 - Monty Noble and Bob Simpson
Inducted 2007 - Charles Macartney and Richie Benaud
Inducted 2008 - George Giffen and Ian Healy
Inducted 2009 - Steve Waugh
Inducted 2010 - Bill Lawry and Graham McKenzie
Inducted 2011 - Mark Taylor and Doug Walters
Inducted 2012 - Shane Warne
Inducted 2013 - Charlie Turner and Glenn McGrath
Inducted 2014 - Mark Waugh and Belinda Clark
Inducted 2015 - Adam Gilchrist and Jack Ryder
Inducted 2016 - Jeff Thomson and Wally Grout
Inducted 2017 - David Boon, Matthew Hayden and Betty Wilson
Inducted 2018 - Norm O’Neill, Ricky Ponting and Karen Rolton
Inducted 2019 - Cathryn Fitzpatrick, Dean Jones and Billy Murdoch
Inducted 2020 - Sharon Tredrea and Craig McDermott
Inducted 2021 - Johnny Mullagh, Merv Hughes and Lisa Sthalekar
Selection Panel
ACHOF chairman and current MCC committee member Peter King
Former Test captain Belinda Clark
Former Test captain Mark Taylor
Former Test batsman and former MCC President Paul Sheahan
Australian Cricketers’ Association Interim CEO Joe Connellan
Cricket Australia Interim CEO Nick Hockley
Media representatives Ben Horne and Greg Baum
Thumbnail image: Credit Matt King/ Getty Images
Banner image: Credit Gareth Copley/ Getty Images
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