Belinda Clark will step down from her Cricket Australia position as the Executive General Manager of Community Cricket. The former Australian women’s Test team captain relinquish her position on November 30, but continue to work with the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 organising committee.
Belinda Clark has announced today (Tuesday) that she is stepping down from her executive role within the game after serving as a cricket administrator for more than 25 years.
She had a distinct international career, representing Australia in 15 Tests and 118 women’s ODIs between 1991 and 2005. She has led Australia to two World Cup title.
The 50-year-old has also been a member of the International Cricket Council’s influential cricket committee since 2018.
Belinda said she felt it was the right time to step back from her administrative role to focus on her work helping girls to identify and develop their leadership ambitions and qualities.
“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 six years with Cricket New South Wales 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,” she said.
“The journey has been exciting and rewarding because of the many amazing people I have worked with across the community, State and 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.
“Cricket has been a major part of my life since I was a little girl growing up in Newcastle and it will continue to be for many years to come.”
Belinda had started working in a development role with Cricket NSW in 1994, having foregone a career as a physiotherapist to find employment that enabled her to pursue her passion for cricket at a time when women received scant remuneration for playing at the highest level.
It was during her time with CNSW she began developing and implementing programs for girls and boys to discover and explore their love for cricket.
As a player, she built a formidable record during a period that Australia dominated the women’s game. Her crowning individual on-field achievement was becoming the first cricketer, male or female, to plunder a double-century in a one-day international (229no from 155 balls), the feat coming against Denmark at Mumbai during Australia’s successful 1997 World Cup campaign.
She remains Australia’s all-time leading women’s ODI run-scorer with 4,844 runs at 47.49, ahead of Karen Rolton (4814 at 48.14) and current skipper Meg Lanning (3693 at 52.75).
While still captaining Australia in 2000, Clark was appointed Executive Officer of Women’s Cricket Australia which then integrated with CA under her leadership.
Before taking up the position as head of CA’s community cricket and grassroots programs, Clark was based at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane where she was helped develop the facility and its oversight for elite-level coaching and athlete management.
She has served as CA’s EGM Community Cricket since 2017 and also took on the role of Interim Executive General Manager Team Performance in 2018.