MELBOURNE: Belinda Clark will be stepping down from Cricket Australia (CA) on 30 November 2020 and this will mark the end to her service to cricket for almost 30 years.
Belinda will finish up with CA on 30 November 2020 but will stay on as a director for the ICC T20 World Cup Local Organising Committee.
Clark has served as CA's Executive General Manager, Community Cricket, for the past two-and-a-half years, supporting the delivering the game to millions of Australians around the country. As a player, Clark captained the Australian women's team to two World Cup titles. She remains Australia's all-time leading ODI run-scorer with 4,844 runs at 47.49 and led Australia to an astonishing 83 wins from 101 matches in the format.
Clark was also the first player - male or female - to score a double century in an ODI. Having started a profession as a physiotherapist, Clark turned to cricket administration to help juggle playing commitments with work in 1994 with CNSW in the development department - establishing competitions for girls to play and implementing programs for young boys and girls to enter the game.
In 2000 she took on the challenge of Executive Officer of Women's Cricket Australia during which time she steered the organisation through integration with Cricket Australia. She has worked across community cricket and high performance at the state and national levels and also performed volunteer roles with clubs. Her recent time on the executive of CA included a stint as Interim Executive General Manager, Team Performance."I have loved my time working for the sport and while this chapter is coming to a close after 20 years with CA, a further 6 years with CNSW and a long-standing member of ICC Women's Committee, I am committed to finding new ways to give back to the game that has given me so much," Clark said in an official statement.
"The journey has been exciting and rewarding because of the many amazing people I have worked with across the community, State/Territory Associations, and CA. I am grateful for their support and am so proud of what we have achieved together. My dream is to help young girls develop the confidence, skills, and courage to step forward when leadership opportunities arise. This shift in my focus is timely as we navigate through significant global challenges - many of which need strong local and diverse voices to overcome," she added.Clark was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 2000 and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2018.
In both cases, Clark's outstanding contribution to Australian cricket and her standing as an inspiration to generations of aspiring female cricketers was highlighted. Clark was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2011 and, three years later, became the first female player inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.
The award for Australia's best female cricketer each year is named in her honour. She has also served on the ICC's Cricket Committee since 2018. Alongside the impact on females, she has been responsible for the NCC facility development and worked with Head Coaches Tim Nielsen, Greg Chappell, and Troy Cooley and support staff to develop the generation of young male players over a 10-year period.Other significant accolades are her induction into the ICC Hall of Fame, the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, the NSW Sports Hall of Fame, and Hunter Region Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2019, the Australian Financial Review Top 100 Women of Influence Awards recognised Belinda as the winner of the Arts, Culture, and Sports category.