Former Australian Women's cricketer Belinda Clark became the first woman to get a Bronze statue unvieled at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The statue was unveiled on the second day of the third men’s Test match between Australia and South Africa. Clark is the 15th sportsperson and third woman to have a statue as part of the SCG sculpture project. The other two are sprinters Betty Cuthbert and Marlene Matthews.
“I’m excited to have the sculpture in place and for people to now look at it and perhaps wonder what that is, who that is and to be able to tell a bit of a story is really important. The sculpture encapsulates being able to have a go – to be courageous, to take on those challenges and break convention,” Clark said.
“I want people to take away that you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it and you have good people around you, and I think I’ve been very fortunate to have had great support and have a bit of an imagination to take my game where I wanted to take it, and hopefully the sport is in a better place for it,” she added.
The sculpture was unveiled by The Hon. Dame Quentin Bryce and the New South Wales Premier the Hon. Dominic Perrottet MP during a ceremony on the morning of Day 2 of the SCG Test.
Clark compiled a formidable record for Australia as a captain and batter, including 919 Test runs at 45.95 including two centuries in 15 Tests and 4844 One Day International runs at 47.49 including the first double century in a Women's ODI cricket.
She was Australia's captain for 12 years and in 101 games and also led Australia to triumph in the 1997 and 2005 World Cups.
She joins Fred Spofforth, Richie Benaud, Stan McCabe and Steve Waugh as cricketers honoured with sculptures in the SCG precinct.
Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer Nick Hockley said: "I am absolutely thrilled that Belinda Clark has been honoured with a sculpture in the SCG precinct and becomes the first female cricketer to receive this recognition.
"Belinda not only compiled a superb playing record for Australia as a batter and captain; she helped inspire the current generation of cricketers and, as an administrator, has had a profound impact on community cricket and the growth in participation," he said.
