Belinda Clark facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Belinda Clark

Personal information
Full name	Belinda Jane Clark
Born	(1970-09-10) 10 September 1970 (age 54) Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off break
Role	Batter
International information
National side	Australia (1991–2005)
Test debut (cap 119)	26 January 1991 v India
Last Test	24 August 2005 v England
ODI debut (cap 66)	17 January 1991 v New Zealand
Last ODI	1 September 2005 v England
Only T20I (cap 3)	2 September 2005 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1990/91–2000/01	New South Wales
2001/02–2004/05	Victoria
Career statistics
Competition WTest WODI WT20I WLA Matches 15 118 1 244 Runs scored 919 4844 4 10,340 Batting average 45.95 47.49 4.00 49.47 100s/50s 2/6 5/30 0/0 14/74 Top score 136 229* 4 229* Balls bowled 78 90 – 648 Wickets 1 3 – 18 Bowling average 28.00 17.00 – 21.33 5 wickets in innings 0 0 – 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 – 0 Best bowling 1/10 1/7 – 2/16 Catches/stumpings 4/– 45/– 1/– 119/–
Medal record Women's Cricket Representing  Australia ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Third 1993 England Winner 1997 India Runner-up 2000 New Zealand Winner 2005 South Africa
Source: CricketArchive, 31 December 2022

Belinda Jane Clark AO (born 10 September 1970) is an amazing Australian former cricketer and sports administrator. She was a right-handed batter and led the Australian women's cricket team for eleven years! Belinda helped her team win the World Cup in 1997 and 2005.

Belinda was the first player to score a double century in a One Day International (ODI) game. She scored the most runs (4,844) and captained the most matches (101) of any Australian woman in ODIs. She also won many championships with New South Wales and Victoria in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL).

Many people think Belinda is one of the greatest female cricketers ever. She was the first woman to join the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. She also helped grow the sport by working in important roles for Cricket Australia and the International Cricket Council.

Early Life & Cricket Start

Belinda Clark was born in Newcastle, New South Wales. Her dad, Allan, was a school teacher and played cricket. Her mom, Margaret, was a state tennis champion. Belinda grew up with three siblings.

Before she knew women could play cricket for their country, Belinda dreamed of winning Wimbledon. She practiced hitting tennis balls against her garage door. She started playing on girls' cricket teams at age 13. This was when she was at Newcastle High School. An Australian player, Sally Griffiths, helped Belinda by driving her to Sydney to play for a club team.

International Cricket Journey

First Games

Belinda played her first international cricket game on 17 January 1991. It was an ODI against New Zealand. She scored 36 runs, helping Australia win. Less than two weeks later, she scored 104 runs in her first Test match against India. Even with her great start, the Test match ended in a draw.

Becoming Captain & First World Cup Win

After the 1993 World Cup, Australia made big changes to their team. Belinda Clark became the new captain. With a new coach and young players, Belinda's team became very successful.

In early 1997, Belinda scored 131 runs in an ODI win against Pakistan. A week later, she scored 142 runs against New Zealand. This was a special game for her, as her teammates didn't score many runs.

Belinda helped Australia start their 1997 World Cup campaign strongly. She scored 93 not out against South Africa. In her next game, she made 229 not out against Denmark. This was the first time any player scored a double century in an ODI! In the final, Belinda scored 52 runs. This helped Australia win the championship against New Zealand. She scored a record 970 runs in ODIs in 1997.

Winning Streaks & World Cup Final

In 1998, Belinda scored 136 runs in a Test match against England. She also took her only Test wicket in this game.

Her team had a record 17-game winning streak in ODIs. Even after that streak ended, they started another 16-game winning streak. During this time, Belinda scored 146 not out against England in her hometown of Newcastle.

Belinda led Australia through the 2000 Cricket World Cup. She scored 91 runs in the final against New Zealand. However, Australia lost by just five runs.

Second World Cup Win & Retirement

In 2001, Belinda led Australia to win The Women's Ashes against England. In 2003, she had strong performances in the World Series of Women's Cricket. She scored 80 runs in the final, helping Australia win easily.

In the 2005 World Cup semi-final, Belinda scored 62 runs against England. Australia won this game. In the final, Australia beat India by 98 runs. This gave Belinda her second World Cup title as captain.

Belinda played her last Test match in August 2005. She finished her 15-match Test career with 919 runs. Her last ODI was on 1 September, where she scored 36 runs. Her final international game was a Twenty20 International the next day. She retired from all cricket on 16 September 2005.

Off the Field Contributions

In 1999, the Commonwealth Bank started sponsoring the national women's team. This happened after the CEO's daughter attended a cricket clinic run by Belinda. This partnership still helps women's cricket in Australia today.

Cricket NSW and Cricket Australia have awards named after Belinda Clark. These awards celebrate the best female players each year. In 2017, she was honored by the Bradman Foundation. In 2019, she won an award for her influence in sports.

Belinda studied Physiotherapy at the University of Sydney. She also studied at Harvard Business School. In 2020, she started her own business called The Leadership Playground. It helps girls aged 10-15 learn leadership skills.

Belinda loves running and has run in races like the Paris Marathon. She looked up to tennis players like John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova. Later, she admired Australian cricketers like Kim Hughes and Greg Chappell.

In January 2023, a bronze statue of Belinda Clark was put up at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It's next to statues of famous male captains, Richie Benaud and Steve Waugh. This is the world's first statue of a female cricketer!

Statue of Belinda Clark at the SCG

As a Sports Leader

While still playing, Belinda became the CEO of Women's Cricket Australia in 2000. After it joined with Cricket Australia, she worked in many leadership roles for almost 20 years. After retiring from playing, she managed the Australian Cricket Academy until 2017. She then became an Executive General Manager for Community Cricket until 2020.

Belinda also helped cricket worldwide. She was part of the International Cricket Council's Women's Committee for over ten years. She also helped organize the ICC T20 World Cup in 2020.

Achievements & Awards

Team Wins

• 2× Women's Cricket World Cup champion: 1997, 2005
• 7× Women's National Cricket League champion: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05

Individual Awards

• Officer of the Order of Australia: 2018 (a special award for her contributions)
• ICC Cricket Hall of Fame inductee: 2011 (one of the best players ever)
• Australian Cricket Hall of Fame inductee: 2014
• Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductee: 2011
• Women's Cricket World Cup Player of the Final: 2000
• 3× Women's National Cricket League Player of the Season: 1997–98, 1998–99, 2003–04
• 3× Women's National Cricket League Player of the Finals: 1997–98, 2002–03, 2003–04
• Wisden Australia Cricketer of the Year: 1998

In January 2023, a full-size statue of Clark was unveiled at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

See also

• Belinda Clark Award