Alexandra Joy Blackwell (born 31 August 1983) is a former professional cricketer who played for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

as a specialist batter. In October 2017, she made her 250th international appearance for the Australian women's cricket team. In November 2019, she announced her retirement from cricket, after a career that spanned 18 years. Her identical twin sister

Kate Kate name may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kate (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Gyula Káté (born 1982), Hungarian amateur boxer * Lauren Kate (born 1981), American autho ...

has also played for Australia. Blackwell made her senior debut for New South Wales in the 2001–02

Women's National Cricket League The Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) is the national domestic 50-over competition for women's cricket in Australia. Featuring seven teams—one from every state, plus the Australian Capital Territory—each season's winner is awarded the ...

(WNCL). Playing in the middle-order she had little to do as the opposition bowlers struggled to penetrate the New South Wales batting line-up. Blackwell made 33 runs at 33.00 in her debut season as New South Wales won the WNCL. The following season, she batted higher up the order and made 212 runs at 30.28, and was selected for the national team at the end of the season with a WNCL career total of only 245 runs. Making her international debut in 2002–03 in a quadrangular

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

(ODI) tournament, she had few opportunities with the bat, scoring 54 runs at 27.00 but was unexpectedly successful with the ball, taking a total of 4/34 despite only having one previous wicket at senior level. She made her Test debut in a two-match series against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

immediately afterwards, hitting a half-century in the latter fixture. Alex Blackwell is the 142nd woman to play Test cricket for Australia. Over the next two years, Blackwell was inconsistent at international level and was in and out of the team due to poor performance. However, she was able to maintain her position for the 2005 World Cup in South Africa, playing in all but one match as Australia won the tournament without a loss. Playing in the middle-order, she was not required to bat often as the opposition rarely broke through the Australian batting, making 67 runs at 33.50. Her 53 against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

was her first half-century in ODIs. However, Blackwell made only 48 from four Test innings during the subsequent tour of England and was unable to cement her place in the Australian team. Blackwell had a prolific 2005–06 WNCL season, scoring 411 runs including her maiden century, but was unable to translate her good domestic form into results for Australia, making only 83 runs in four innings against India at the end of the season. After missing the first half of the 2006–07 season due to injury, Blackwell had a stint for

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

in New Zealand's

State League The Hallyburton Johnstone Shield is the premier domestic women's one-day cricket competition in New Zealand. The tournament began in 1935–36, as a first-class competition, but is now played as a 50-over competition, with six provincial teams ...

, scoring 315 runs at 52.50. However, her international form remained poor and she was dropped midway through an ODI tournament in India after making 54 runs in four innings. She earned a recall midway through the subsequent

Rose Bowl series The Rose Bowl series is a series of Women's One Day International cricket matches between Australia and New Zealand that has been running since February 1985. It was originally known as the ''Shell Rose Bowl''; the name was changed to the ''Ros ...

against New Zealand. Blackwell established herself at international level in 2007–08. After making 291 runs at 41.57 in the WNCL, she broke through for her maiden ODI century in the home series against England. She made another fifty later in the series, followed by consecutive half-centuries against New Zealand, ending the international season with 389 runs at 43.22. After playing in the

Women's County Championship The Women's County Championship, known since 2014 as the Royal London Women’s One-Day Cup,2009 World Cup. She had a poor ODI tour of England, making single-figure scores in all five matches, before returning to Australia to score 489 runs at 61.12 in the WNCL, including two centuries, as New South Wales won for the fifth consecutive time, and making 191 runs at 47.75 in the T20 tournament. Blackwell led Australia in the Rose Bowl series in early-2010 after regular captain

Jodie Fields Jodie Maree Fields (, born 19 June 1984) is a sports administrator, coach, women's sport and physical activity advocate, and former Australian cricket player. Fields grew up in Queensland playing boy's and men's cricket before playing women's ...

was sidelined due to injury. They won all eight ODIs but lost all five T20 internationals. Blackwell made 235 runs at 33.57 including two fifties. In February 2018, she announced her retirement from international cricket, but would continue to play in the

Women's Big Bash League The Women's Big Bash League (known as the WBBL and, for sponsorship reasons, the Weber WBBL) is the Australian women's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition. The WBBL replaced the Australian Women's Twenty20 Cup, which ran from the 2007–08 ...

. In November 2018, she was named in

Sydney Thunder The Sydney Thunder are an Australian franchise professional cricket team, competing in Australia's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League. Along with the Sydney Sixers, the Thunder are the successors of the New South Wale ...

's squad for the

2018–19 Women's Big Bash League season The 2018–19 Women's Big Bash League season or WBBL, 04 was the fourth season of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), the semi-professional women's Twenty20 domestic cricket competition in Australia. The tournament ran from 1 December 2018 to 26 ...

Early years

Blackwell was born in

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...

, but raised in

Yenda Yenda is a town in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. The town is located about east of Griffith, north-west of Narrandera, and west of Sydney in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area of southern New South Wales. Although most ...

, a small rural town outside of

Griffith, New South Wales Griffith is a major regional city in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area that is located in the north-western part of the Riverina region of New South Wales, known commonly as the food bowl of Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith ...

. She and her identical twin sister

attended

Barker College , motto_translation = Seek Honour above Rewards , location = Hornsby, Sydney , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_image ...

on the North Shore of Sydney as boarders. In March 2000, Blackwell was called into the New South Wales team for the under 17 interstate competition. In the first match, she took 3/7 and wasn't required to bat in a ten wicket victory over Victoria Blue. Her top-score for the tournament came in the sixth match against Western Australia, when she scored 57

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

. New South Wales won all of their eight matches to claim the competition and Blackwell ended with 149 runs at 37.25 and seven wickets at 17.00.

Domestic debut

2017–18 WNCL NSWB v ACTM 17-11-26 Blackwell (01)

During the 2001–02 season, Blackwell made her senior debut for

. In her first match against

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, she bowled two expensive overs, conceding 18 runs, and was not required to bat as New South Wales won by six wickets. Batting in the middle-order, often lower than the top-six, Blackwell as only required to bat once in her first four matches, making nine not out in the second match against Queensland and being at the crease when the six-wicket win was registered. The season was interrupted by the national Under-19 competition, and Blackwell was prominent with both bat and ball as New South Wales won all of their six matches. Apart from one

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

, Blackwell reached 30 in her remaining five innings to aggregate 207 runs at 41.40. She also took 11 wickets at 9.36. In five of the six matches, she scored at least 30 and took two or more wickets. Blackwell returned to senior duty and again had little to do in the lower order as her state's leading batter encountered little difficulty with opposition bowlers. New South Wales defeated

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in both round-robin matches and beat them again in the finals series 2–0 to win their sixth consecutive national title. Blackwell was at the crease, unbeaten on 12, as New South Wales reached their target in the second match with four wickets in hand, having not been required to bat in the seven-wicket win in the first final the day before. Blackwell played in eight matches but was only required to bat four times for a total of 33 runs at 33.00 and bowled seven overs without success. At the end of the season, Blackwell was selected for the Australia Youth team that played New Zealand A. She made 76 runs at 19.00 in four matches with a highest score of 32 and took a total of 1/43 from 11 overs. This was followed by a match against the senior

team. Blackwell took 1/18 and scored 2 in a 21-run defeat. In 2002–03, Blackwell played in her first full season in the WNCL, taking to the field in all 10 of New South Wales' matches. After not being trusted to bat at No. 7 or higher in the first match of the season, which New South Wales won, Blackwell was unbeaten on 17 when they lost to South Australia in the second match of the double-header the next day, having been attacked and conceded 23 runs from two overs in South Australia's innings. Blackwell made her maiden half-century at senior level in the next match, scoring 74 not out to guide her state of a five-wicket win over Victoria. She then made three single-digit scores before rediscovering form in the last two round-robin matches against Western Australia, making 36 and 38. New South Wales won six matches of their eight matches and faced Victoria in the final. Blackwell made only 14 and 17 as New South Wales lost both of the finals, ending their run of six WNCL titles in a row. In the second final, she took her maiden wicket at senior level, but her sporadic bowling was otherwise unsuccessful, conceding 45 runs in 8 overs for the season. Blackwell ended the season with 212 runs at 30.28.

International career

International debut

At the end of the season, Blackwell was called into the national team for a quadrangular ODI tournament held in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

in New Zealand. In addition to the hosts and Australia, England and India were also competing. Each team played two matches against the other three teams in the round-robin phase. Blackwell made her debut in Australia's second match, against England, but neither batted nor bowled in a seven-wicket win. In the next match, against India, she scored 27 before being run out and had unexpected success as a bowler, taking 2/8 from six overs in a 59-run win. She was left out of Australia's fourth match, against England, but returned for the last two qualifying matches. She took 2/18 against India before making six not out as the winning runs were scored against the hosts. In the final, she made 21 as Australia scored 214 and defeated the hosts by 109 runs. Blackwell ended her first international series with 54 runs at 27.00 and four wickets at 8.50 at an economy rate of 2.61. The success with the ball is something she has not repeated. In seven years since, she had only taken two more wickets at international level. Alex Blackwell is the 97th woman to play One Day International cricket for Australia. Australia then hosted England in two Tests. Blackwell made her debut at

the Gabba The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. In a low-scoring match, she bowled 11 overs including six maidens, registering figures of 0/9 as the tourists made 124 batting first. Blackwell then came in at 4/40 and made four from 14 balls in her maiden Test innings before being dismissed by

Laura Newton Laura Kelly Newton (born Macleod, 27 November 1977) is an English former cricketer who played as a right-handed batter and off break bowler. She appeared in 13 Test matches, 73 WODIs and 3 WT20Is games for the English women's cricket team. S ...

, precipitating a collapse of 6/28 as Australia fell to be all out for 78. After England was all out for 92, Blackwell came to the crease with the score at 4/104, with 35 runs still needed for victory. She and Michelle Goszko batted slowly, adding seven runs in nine overs before the latter was out. Blackwell was then joined by

Julie Hayes Julie Hayes (born 2 May 1973 in Ryde, Sydney) is an Australian former cricket player. Hayes played 111 Women's National Cricket League matches and two Women's Twenty20 matches for the New South Wales Breakers. Hayes played six Tests, 59 One D ...

, who scored 18 of the remaining 28 runs required for victory. Blackwell was nine not out and was at the crease when the winning runs were registered with five wickets in hand, having batted for 85 balls in 85 minutes. Despite her circumspect batting, Blackwell was retained for the Second Test at

Bankstown Oval Bankstown Oval (officially known as Bankstown Memorial Oval) Bankstown Council Sporting Faciliti ...

in Sydney. Australia batted first and Blackwell came in at 4/90. Soon after, her partners

Mel Jones Melanie Jones (born 11 August 1972, Barnstaple, Devon, England) is an English-born Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer who represented Australia women's national cricket team. Early life Jones was born in England and moved wi ...

and Hayes fell in quick succession as Australia lost 3/13 to be 6/103. Blackwell then added 21 with

Cathryn Fitzpatrick Cathryn Lorraine Fitzpatrick (born 4 March 1968) is an Australian former cricketer. She was recognised as the world's fastest female bowler throughout her career and became the first woman to take 100 One Day International wickets. She appear ...

before the former was out for 13; this triggered a collapse of 4/10 as Australia were all out for 134. Blackwell came in at 4/49 with Australia still four runs behind in the second innings. She added 136 in 226 minutes for the fifth wicket with

Lisa Sthalekar Lisa Carprini Sthalekar (born 13 August 1979) is an Australian cricket commentator and former cricketer and captain of the Australia women's national cricket team. In domestic cricket, she represented New South Wales. She was a right-handed all ...

before being dismissed for 58, having hit six boundaries from 236 balls. In pursuit of a target of 206, England reached 6/133 when time ran out. Blackwell did not bowl in the match. Blackwell played in all of New South Wales' 11 matches in the 2003–04 WNCL, scoring 183 runs at 26.14. In the fourth match of the season against South Australia, she made an unbeaten 70 in a vain attempt to secure victory in the run-chase as her state were bowled out and fell to a ten-run defeat. She was then run out twice for 26 and 23 in the two matches against reigning champions Victoria, as New South Wales tied one match and lost the next by four wickets. It was two of three instances in which Blackwell was run out during the season. New South Wales had a chance for redemption in the finals against Victoria. Blackwell made a duck—her third single-digit score in as many matches—in the first final, which the titleholders won by six wickets. In the next two matches, she was unbeaten on 13 and 16 and at the crease when the winning runs were brought up. New South Wales won the second final by five wickets and scraped home in the deciding match by three wickets to regain the WNCL title. Blackwell's sporadic bowling—26 overs in total—yielded one wicket at 118.00 at an economy rate of 4.37.

Inconsistency at international level

Blackwell retained her position in the national team for the Rose Bowl series, which consisted of three matches each in New Zealand and then Australia. She played in only the third match in New Zealand and did not bat in the seven-wicket win, before being omitted for the first match at home. She was recalled for the second match and made 15 not out in a 40-run win, before her unbeaten 22 guided Australia to a four-wicket win in the final match at

Bellerive Oval Bellerive Oval, known commercially as Blundstone Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a cricket and Australian rules football ground located in Bellerive, a suburb on the eastern shore of Hobart, Australia, holding 20,000 people it is the large ...

, as the hosts took out the series 5–1. In the first four matches of the 2004–05 WNCL, Blackwell made 54 and 27 in her only innings as the opposition bowlers failed to penetrate the New South Wales top-order in the other two matches. The defending champions won all four matches before the season was adjourned when the national team travelled to India in December for seven-match bilateral ODI series. Blackwell scored two in a 14-run win in the opening match in

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

and was dropped for the next match. She was recalled for the third match in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, run out for a duck in a six-wicket defeat. The tourists won the next two matches to seal the series, but Blackwell was not prominent. She was not required to bat in the third match and was run out for 13 in the next. She made 19 in the sixth ODI and was dropped for the final match of the tour, ending the series with 34 runs at 8.50.

2005 World Cup

Blackwell returned to Australia needing a strong end to the WNCL season to ensure selection for the 2005 World Cup in South Africa. In the four remaining round-robin matches, she made 96 runs in four innings, half of these coming in a five-wicket win over Queensland. New South Wales met Victoria in the finals. Blackwell was not required to bat in a seven-wicket win in the first match before making 13 and 24 as the reigning champions were dismissed for 71 and 109, losing the last two matches by five wickets and 50 runs respectively. Blackwell ended the season with 214 runs at 26.75 and this was enough to secure retention in the national team despite her poor results during the Indian tour. The Australians hosted New Zealand for three Rose Bowl ODIs in the western coastal city of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

before the teams crossed the Indian Ocean to reach South Africa. Blackwell was not productive in the trans-Tasman matches. She made six and took 1/8 in the first match, and was then run out for 27 in the next game. She was omitted for third match. In the first match of the World Cup, Blackwell was persevered with by the selectors; she did not bat as England made 7/169 before rain ended the match. This was followed by an encounter with New Zealand. Blackwell scored 53 in Australia's 7/174, helping to set up a 32-run win. In the third match against the West Indies, she was run out for a duck in a 79-run win, and was dropped for the 97-run win over the hosts. The group stages ended with two easy victories. Blackwell took 1/8 from two overs, her last international wicket, as Australia dismissed Sri Lanka for 57. Since then she has bowled only 47 balls in senior matches. She was not required to bat as Australia reached their target with eight wickets in hand. The match against Ireland was similar as Australia achieved the target of 67 with all wickets intact. The final pool match against India was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to inclement weather, and Australia met England in the semi-finals. Blackwell scored 10 not out, helping to complete the closing stages of a five-wicket win. In the final against India, she came in towards the end of the innings and made four not out as Australia amassed 4/215. Australia bowled India out for 117 to win by 98 runs. Blackwell ended the tournament with 67 runs at 33.50. In the northern hemisphere summer of 2005, Australia toured England. They started with a stopover in Ireland, and only the second of the three ODIs went ahead; the other two matches were washed out by persistent rain. Blackwell made four not out as Australia made 3/295 and took a 240-run win. Australia played two Tests in England. In the First Test at County Ground in

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

, Sussex, Blackwell batted at No. 5 and played alongside identical twin sister Kate, who was making her Test debut. She struggled in both innings, making five and nine and scoring at a strike rate of 20 or less in both innings. After taking an 82-run lead, Australia set the hosts a target of 306. Blackwell took two catches, her first at Test level, removing

Claire Taylor Samantha Claire Taylor (born 25 September 1975) is a former cricketer who represented England more than 150 times between 1998 and 2011. A top order batter,In women's cricket, "batsman" is commonly used, alongside "batter". Taylor was the f ...

and

Jenny Gunn Jennifer Louise Gunn (born 9 May 1986) is an English former cricketer who plays as a right-arm medium bowler and right-handed batter. She appeared in 11 Test matches, 144 One Day Internationals and 104 Twenty20 Internationals for England bet ...

as the hosts ended on 7/172 to salvage a draw. In the Second Test at

New Road, Worcester New Road is a cricket ground in the English city of Worcester. It has been the home ground of Worcestershire County Cricket Club since 1896. Since October 2017 the ground has been known for sponsorship purposes as Blackfinch New Road following ...

, Blackwell made 20 and 14 as Australia ceded a 158-run first innings lead and eventually lost by six wickets after Blackwell's fall in the second innings left them at 5/46, still 112 runs in arrears. She ended the series with 48 runs at 12.00. Blackwell had mediocre results in the five ODIs, scoring 5, 27, 17 not out, 21 not out and 14 as Australia won 3–2. She ended the series with 84 runs at 28.00. Blackwell then played in Australia's inaugural

Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

international at the

County Ground, Taunton The County Ground, known for sponsorship reasons as Cooper Associates County Ground, and nicknamed Ciderabad, is a cricket ground in Taunton, Somerset. It is the home of Somerset County Cricket Club, who have played there since 1882. The ground ...

, only the second international match in the history of the new format. She was not required to bat as Australia won with seven wickets in hand. Having failed to establish herself at international level in 2005, Blackwell started the 2005–06 WNCL season strongly, scoring 61 in the first match of the campaign, a seven-wicket win over Western Australia. The next day she made 130, her maiden WNCL century, setting up a 118-run win against the same team. She then top-scored with 86 in the next match against Queensland, scoring more than half of the runs in a successful run-chase of 3/161. After a run of three scores of 10 or less, Blackwell made 36 and 30 as New South Wales won both matches against Victoria in their last double-header of the season. New South Wales won seven of their eight matches to qualify for the finals against Queensland. In the first match, she scored 50 as New South Wales reached their target of 175 with eight wickets in hand, having earlier taken two catches. She made only three in the next match as New South Wales fell for 154 and lost by three wickets, before scoring 10 as her state made 146 and won by two runs to claim the WNCL. Blackwell ended the season with 411 runs at 38.36. After her strong WNCL season, Blackwell was retained for the series against India in Adelaide at the end of the Australian summer. Opening the batting, she made a 17-ball duck in the one-off Test at the

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the city centre and North Adelaide. The venue is predominantly used for cricket and Australian rules football, but has also played host to rugby ...

, which Australia won by an innings. Blackwell took three catches but made only one in the first ODI. She only made 19 in the next match but was retained for the third and final ODI, top-scoring with an unbeaten 63 in a nine-wicket win. She ended the series with 83 runs at 41.50. Blackwell missed the five-ODI Rose Bowl series at home and the first four WNCL matches of the 2006–07 season due to injury. She returned for the final four round-robin matches and made 42, 17, 74 and 4 as New South Wales won all four matches. She was not effective in the three finals against Victoria, making a duck in a one-wicket win in the first match before scoring one as Victoria levelled the series with an eight-wicket triumph the following day. In the deciding match, she made 20 as New South Wales reached their target of 206 with three wickets in hand. Blackwell ended the season with 158 runs at 22.57. During gaps in New South Wales' schedule, Blackwell travelled across to New Zealand for three weekends of domestic one-dayers for Otago. In her debut for the team, she struck an even 100 in a 162-run win over Northern Districts. She added 79 in a 182-run victory the following day. After making 27 and 31 against Auckland, Blackwell ended her stay with 1 and 77 against Canterbury; Otago lost both matches. She ended with 315 runs at 52.50 in her six-match stint. After the end of the Australian season, Blackwell was selected for the ODI team for a four-nations tournament in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, India. In addition to the hosts and Australia, New Zealand and England were also participating, and each team played each other twice in round-robin phase. In the first match, she made 25 in a six-wicket defeat against New Zealand, who took 41 runs without loss from her four overs en route to a six-wicket win. Blackwell then made 11 in a three-wicket loss to the hosts, leaving Australia in danger of missing the final. She was retained but made a duck and 18 as Australia won their next two matches against England and New Zealand. Blackwell was then omitted from the two remaining round-robin matches and the final, which Australia won by six wickets. She ended the tournament with 54 runs at 13.50. Blackwell was retained in the Rose Bowl series held in tropical Darwin in July 2007, the middle of the southern hemisphere winter. After watching the first two matches from the sidelines, she was called into the team for the third match where she made an unbeaten 44 to see Australia to a six-wicket win. She made 4 and 27 in the two remaining matches, ending the series with 75 runs at 37.50 as Australia prevailed 3–2. Blackwell started the 2007–08 WNCL season strongly, scoring half-centuries in each of the first four matches, all of which were won by New South Wales. She made 75 not out and 52 against South Australia, followed by 60 and 55 against Victoria. The results in each of the two double-headers were identical; New South Wales won the first match by seven wickets before prevailing the next day by 25 runs. Blackwell made 42 in the penultimate round-robin match but otherwise failed to reach double figures in the last four matches. New South Wales qualified in first place for the final against South Australia after winning seven of their eight matches and were awarded the title after the decider was washed out. Blackwell scored 291 runs at 41.57. In her only T20 innings, Blackwell made 37 not out in an eight-wicket win over Western Australia.

Established international cricketer

The domestic competition was followed by two international series against England and New Zealand. Blackwell made 10 as Australia won the T20 international against England at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...

by 21 runs. In the ODIs that followed, drawn 2–2, Blackwell established herself at international level. After scoring 11 in an Australian defeat in the first ODI, she struck 101—her maiden ODI century—the next day at the MCG to set up an 84-run win. After making five as England took a 2–1 series lead, Blackwell made 61 in the final match to help set up a series-levelling 41-run win. She ended the series with 178 runs at 44.50. In the one-off Test at

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands. Bowral once served ...

, Blackwell opened the innings. She made one as Australia batted first and reached 154 in their first innings before conceding a 90-run first innings lead. In the second innings, she made 24 before being bowled for the second time in the matches by pace bowler

Isa Guha Isa Tara Guha (born 21 May 1985) is an English cricket commentator, television and radio cricket broadcaster, and a former England cricketer who played in the 2005 World Cup and the 2009 World Cup.Bert Sutcliffe Oval The Bert Sutcliffe Oval is a cricket ground at Lincoln University in Lincoln, New Zealand that has staged first-class matches as well as international matches for both women's and under-19 level cricket. Previously known as BIL Oval, in Februa ...

Lincoln, New Zealand Lincoln is a town in the Selwyn District, in the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury Region of New Zealand's South Island. The town is located on the Canterbury Plains to the west of Banks Peninsula, 22 kilometres southwest of Christchu ...

, for a T20 international and five ODIs. Blackwell made 15 and took two catches as the hosts won the T20 by four wickets. She then made 44 of 5/189 to help secure a 63-run win in the first ODI. In the next two matches, she made seven twice, as the hosts claimed both matches to take the series lead. Australia thus needed to win the remaining two matches. In the fourth match, Blackwell made 61 in an Australian win by six runs. In the final match, she made 91 to help steer Australia to their target of 250 and a series-clinching eight-wicket win. Blackwell ended the series with 211 runs at 42.20. For the whole international season, she scored 389 runs at 43.22 to establish herself at international level. During the 2008 Australian winter, Blackwell travelled to England for a domestic season in the northern hemisphere summer, playing for

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

in the county competition, and

Rubies A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sap ...

in the

Super Fours The Super Fours was a women's limited overs cricket competition which was played annually in England between 2002 and 2013, with a break in 2009 and 2010. Designed to bring together the leading 48 players in English women's cricket, it originall ...

. Blackwell failed to capitalise on her starts for the county, registering scores of 41, 22, 0, 39 and 30 in her five one-day innings for a total of 132 runs at 26.40. It was a similar story in four one-dayers for Rubies, making 58 runs at 14.50 with a best of 26. Blackwell had little impact in the T20s for Rubies, making four and a duck. The 2008–09 Australian season started with a tour by India. Blackwell started with 0/14 from her only over and scored 14 in a six-wicket win in the T20 match. She was prominent as the hosts completed a 5–0 clean sweep of the ODIs. In the first match at

Hurstville Oval Hurstville Oval is a multi-use sporting ground, located in the suburb of Hurstville, in Sydney's southern suburbs. Since its opening, it has held various sports at the venue – including Cricket, Rugby League, Cycling and Football. The ov ...

, she made 75 in an eight-wicket win. After making eight and one not out in the next two matches, Blackwell made 106 not out, setting up a 118-run win in the fourth match at

Manuka Oval Manuka Oval is a sporting venue in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is located in Griffith, in the area of that suburb known as Manuka. Manuka Oval has a seating capacity of 13,550 people and an overall capacity of 16,000 people, although ...

. She ended the series with 65 run out in the seven-wicket win in the final match. Blackwell aggregated 255 runs at 85.00 for the series. Blackwell had a slow start to the WNCL, failing to pass 22 in her first three innings; she made an unbeaten 50 in an eight-wicket win over Western Australia, and then struck an unbeaten 101 as New South Wales made 1/176 to defeat South Australia by nine wickets. The next day, she made 75 but it was not enough to prevent a 39-run loss against the same team. In the two final round-robin matches against Victoria, she made 70 not out in a nine-wicket win, her fourth consecutive score above 50. The streak ended with 22 in a three-wicket win the next day, and New South Wales hosted the final the following week against the same team. Blackwell made only three as New South Wales made 4/120 to win by six wickets. She ended the season with 372 runs at 62.00.

2009 World Cup and World Twenty20

After the WNCL ended, the Australians headed to New Zealand for the Rose Bowl series. Blackwell made 10 and 9 in the first two matches as Australia went 2–0 down. She then made 59 and 37 in the next two matches as Australia levelled the series; the fifth and final match was washed out. The teams returned to Australia for the World Cup. In two warm-up matches against England and Sri Lanka, Blackwell made 91 not out and 56 retired; Australia won the matches by 25 and 230 runs respectively. In the opening match of the World Cup campaign, Blackwell made four as Australia fell short of their target on the Duckworth-Lewis method. Australia then needed to win their two remaining group matches to reach the Super Six phase. Blackwell made 22 and took three catches as Australia defeated

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

by 61 runs. She then scored 46 not out in a 47-run win over the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. In the first Super Six match, against India, Blackwell scored 54 as Australia made 7/218, falling 17 runs of their target. She then made seven run out in the win over

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

by 107 runs. She made 38 not out in Australia's final Super Six match against England, and although the hosts won by eight wickets, it was not enough for them to place in the top two in the standings and qualify for the final. In the third-place playoff against India, Blackwell made 19 in a three-wicket defeat. Blackwell ended the tournament with 190 runs at 38.00. Blackwell was selected for Australia's team for the inaugural Women's World Twenty20 held in England in 2009. The Australians hosted New Zealand for a three-match series in tropical Darwin at the beginning of June before the World Cup, and Blackwell played in all the matches, making 11 not out and 10 in her two innings. Australia took the series 2–1. After arriving in England, Blackwell made 19 in Australia's 8/123, which New Zealand surpassed with nine wickets in hand. She was not required to bat in an eight-wicket win over the West Indies. Blackwell then 40 not out as Australia defeated South Africa by 24 runs. This put Australia into the semi-final against England. Blackwell made five before England overhauled Australia's score of 5/163 to reach the final, which they won. She ended the tournament with 64 runs at 32.00. Blackwell and the Australians stayed in England for a bilateral series against the hosts, who were the reigning world champions in both ODIs and T20s, after the end of the World Twenty20. In the one-off T20 match, she made 18 as Australia upset England by 34 runs. She played in all five ODIs, and had a torrid time against the English bowling, scoring 7, 3, 0, 0 and 5. She started with a 38-ball 7 in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

and had a series of slow-scoring single-digit innings, ending the series with a strike rate of 19.73. England won all the ODI matches except the last, which was washed out. Blackwell played in the one-off Test match at

County Road A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the County (United States), county highway departme ...

in Worcestershire. Blackwell opened and made a fourth-ball duck as Australia fell to 5/28 in their first innings before recovering to make 309. After the tourists had taken a 41-run lead, Blackwell made 68 as Australia made 231 to set the hosts a target of 273. Blackwell and opening partner Nitschke put on 49 before the latter was out for 25. Blackwell then added 81 in 21 overs with Rolton before the latter was dismissed, leaving the score at 2/130. She was then out at 3/150 after hitting six fours and a six from 135 balls, sparking a collapse of 8/81. The match was drawn as the hosts ended at 3/106.

Heavy WNCL scoring and national captaincy

After making single-figure scores in consecutive matches, Blackwell struck an unbeaten 121, scoring more than half the runs in an eight-wicket win over the Australian Capital Territory in the third match of the season. After making 37 and 39 in the pair of matches against Victoria, she was prominent in the double-header against Western Australia, scoring 138 to set up a 127-run win, before making an unbeaten 61 the next day in a ten-wicket win. In the final, Blackwell top-scored with 54 as New South Wales batted first and made 9/206. They then dismissed the Victorians for 147 to seal a 59-run win. Blackwell ended the WNCL with 489 runs at 61.12. A T20 domestic tournament was introduced, and Blackwell was prolific in the six qualifying matches, scoring 31 not out, 32, 30, 41, 33 not out and 24 not out. New South Wales won all of the round-robin matches except the fixture against Victoria. The two teams met again in the final, and Blackwell failed for the only time in the competition, making a duck as New South Wales fell for 75 in pursuit of 128 for victory. After the series, Blackwell led Australia in the Rose Bowl series against New Zealand due to an injury to incumbent captain

. The campaign started with five ODIs in Australia. In the first two matches, held at the

, she made 51 and 34 as the hosts won by 115 runs and six wickets respectively. The last three matches of the series were held at the

Junction Oval Junction Oval (also known as the St Kilda Cricket Ground, or the CitiPower Centre due to sponsorship reasons) is a historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The oval's location near the St Kilda Junc ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In the third ODI, Blackwell top-scored with 92 as Australia took a 102-run win and sealed the series. She was not required to bat in the ten-wicket win in fourth match and made one as Australia took a 5–0 whitewash with a comfortable 103-run win in the final ODI. Blackwell ended her first series as captain with 178 runs at 44.50. The ODIs were followed by three T20s at

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

and two more in New Zealand at the start of the second phase of the bilateral contests. Blackwell played in every match and Australia was whitewashed. The three matches in Hobart were closely fought; Blackwell made 11, top-scored with 40, and added 26 as New Zealand won by two, one and seven runs respectively. The hosts won the last two matches in New Zealand convincingly by 59 and 17 runs; Blackwell made 9 and 8 as the Australians were bowled out for 73 and 98. She ended the series with 94 runs at 18.80. Australia then swept New Zealand 3–0 in the ODIs in New Zealand. In the first match, Blackwell made five as Australia came closest to defeat in the ODIs, scraping home by two wickets. She made 8 and 44 in last two matches in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

to complete the clean sweep. In all the ODIs she made 235 runs at 33.57. Blackwell had thus led Australia to eight consecutive ODI wins over New Zealand.

2010 World Twenty20 triumph

Blackwell led the team at the

2010 World Twenty20 The 2010 ICC World Twenty20 was the third ICC World Twenty20 competition, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament that was held in the West Indies between 30 April and 16 May 2010. It was won by England, who defeated Australia in the fin ...

in the

and captained in every match after Fields was again forced out by injury. She batted at No. 4 in all but one match. In the first warm-up match against New Zealand, she opened the bowling with her occasional medium pace, and took 1/29 from her four overs, dismissing the opposing captain and opener

Aimee Watkins Aimee Louise Watkins (; born 11 October 1982) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as an all-rounder. Career Watkins appeared in 2 Test matches, 103 One Day Internationals and 36 Twenty20 Internationals for New Zealand between 2002 and ...

. She then came in at No. 4 and top-scored with 44 from as many balls as Australia lost by 18 runs. In the last warm-up match, she made 35 not out from 21 balls and featured in a 55-run partnership from 40 balls with

Jess Cameron Jessica Evelyn Duffin (; born 27 June 1989) is an Australian sportswoman. In cricket, she has made 117 international appearances and won four world championships as a member of the Australia women's national cricket team, Australian women's te ...

. She did not bowl herself as the Australians defeated

by 82 runs. Australia were grouped with defending champions

and the

. In the first match against England, Blackwell ran out

Holly Colvin Holly Louise Colvin (born 7 September 1989) is an English former cricketer who played as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and right-handed batter. She appeared in five Test matches, 72 One Day Internationals and 50 Twenty20 Internationals for ...

to end the innings with 15 balls unused. In pursuit of 105 for victory, Australia were 2/10 when Blackwell came to the crease. She made 7 from 14 balls in a partnership of 34 from 33 balls—Australia's largest of the match—with

Leah Poulton Leah Joy Poulton (born 27 February 1984) is an Australian former cricketer who played for New South Wales and Australia. She played as a specialist batter who usually opened the batting. Poulton came to prominence in youth cricket by captain ...

. However, their dismissals in consecutive overs started a collapse of 5/19 from 34 balls. However, Australia recovered, and

Rene Farrell Rene Farrell (born 13 January 1987) is an Australian cricketer. A fast-medium pace bowler, she is a current member of the Australian team. On 1 December 2019, Farrell announced her retirement from Women's Big Bash League. Although Farrell ...

was

run out Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, governed by Law 38 of the Laws of Cricket. A run out usually occurs when the batsmen are attempting to run between the wickets, and the fielding team succeed in getting the ball to one wicket befo ...

going for the winning run from the third last ball available, leaving the scores tied. A Super Over eventuated, and both teams ended with 2/6 after both suffered run outs in an attempt to secure a seventh run on the final ball. Australia was awarded the match because they had hit more sixes in the match—

scored the solitary six. In the next match against South Africa, Blackwell made 9 from 14 balls, the only Australian in the first seven batting positions to score at less than a strike rate of 133.33. A sudden collapse saw Australia lose 6/16 including the last four wickets for four runs to be all out for 155 with three balls unused. They eventually completed a 22-run win. In the final group match, Blackwell top-scored with 28 from 26 balls, and batted through most of the innings, although she only faced a small minority of the 74 balls delivered during her time at the crease, as Australia finished on 7/133. She had put on 22 runs in 16 balls with Sthalekar. She caught

Shanel Daley Shanel Francine Daley (born 25 December 1988) is a Jamaican former cricketer who played as a left-arm medium bowler and left-handed batter. She appeared in 70 One Day Internationals and 68 Twenty20 Internationals for the West Indies between 200 ...

from the bowling of Sthalekar as Australia won by nine runs to finish the group stage unbeaten at the top of their quartet. Australia went on to face

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in the semi-final. Blackwell ran out opposing captain and all rounder

Jhulan Goswami Jhulan Nishit Goswami (born 25 November 1982) is an Indian cricketer. She plays as a right-arm medium fast bowler and right-handed batter. She is one of the fastest (female) bowler of all times and considered one of the greatest bowlers to ...

, one of three wickets to fall in the 17th over bowled by

Ellyse Perry Ellyse Alexandra Perry (born 3 November 1990) is an Australian sportswoman who has represented her country in cricket and association football. Having debuted for both the national cricket team and the national soccer team at the age of 16, s ...

. Australia were set a target of 120, and Blackwell promoted herself to No. 3 after opener

Elyse Villani Elyse Jayne Villani (born 6 October 1989) is an Australian cricketer who played for the Australia national women's team from 2009 to 2019. She has also played domestic cricket for various teams in both the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) ...

fell for a duck in the first over. Blackwell and Nitschke counter-attacked, and scored the next 50 runs in 40 balls, before Nitschke was out to end a stand of 74 runs in 60 balls. Blackwell reached her fifty in 37 balls and was eventually out for 61 from 49 balls with 17 runs still required from 28 balls for victory. The Australians reached their target with seven wickets and seven balls to spare, and Blackwell was named the player of the match. In the final against New Zealand, Blackwell elected to bat, but New Zealand started more effectively. Nitschke and Villani were out in consecutive overs and Blackwell came in at 2/14 in the fourth over. After being unable to score from her first six balls, Blackwell was then dismissed for a duck from her seventh delivery, cutting

Nicola Browne Nicola Jane Browne (born 14 September 1983) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as an all-rounder, batting right-handed and bowling right-arm medium. She appeared in 2 Test matches, 125 One Day Internationals and 54 Twenty20 Internat ...

into the hands of

Sophie Devine Sophie Frances Monique Devine (born 1 September 1989) is a New Zealand sportswoman, who has represented New Zealand in both cricket for the New Zealand national women's cricket team (''White Ferns''), and in field hockey as a member of the New ...

in the gully, leaving the score at 3/20 in the sixth over. The Australians eventually reached 8/106 from their 20 overs. New Zealand started their chase solidly, but in the fourth over, the tide began to turn when but their captain

pulled

Clea Smith Clea Rosemary Smith (born 6 January 1979) is an Australian former cricket player. She played in the Australian national cricket team in all three formats: Test, One Day International (ODI), and Twenty20 International (T20I). Cricket career Sm ...

and the catch was taken by a leaping Blackwell at midwicket. In the next over Blackwell ran out

Sara McGlashan Sara Jade McGlashan (born 28 March 1982) is a New Zealand former cricketer who played as a right-handed batter and wicket-keeper. She appeared in 2 Test matches, 134 One Day Internationals and 76 Twenty20 Internationals for New Zealand between ...

for 1, after the latter had been in a mix-up with

Suzie Bates Suzannah Wilson Bates (born 16 September 1987) is a New Zealand cricketer and former captain of national women cricket team. Born at Dunedin, she plays domestic cricket for the Otago Sparks, as well as playing for the White Ferns. She currently ...

, leaving New Zealand at 2/19. Later, Blackwell caught

Rachel Priest Rachel Holly Priest (born 13 June 1985 in New Plymouth, Taranaki) is a New Zealand cricketer who plays as a wicket-keeper and right-handed batter. She played for New Zealand between 2007 and 2020. Career Domestic and franchise In May 2018, ...

from Nitschke to leave New Zealand at 5/36 after 11 overs, leaving them with 71 runs to score from the last 54 balls. Australia went on to win by three runs.

2015 Ashes

In June 2015, she was named as one of Australia's touring party for the 2015 Women's Ashes in England.

2017–18 season

2017–18 W Ashes A v E Test 17-11-10 Blackwell (01)

Blackwell was in Australia's squad for the

Women's Ashes The Women's Ashes is the perpetual trophy in women's international cricket series between England and Australia. The name derives from the historic precedent of the Ashes in male cricket and, until 2013, was similarly decided exclusively on the ...

. In the first WODI of the series she came to the crease when Australia were 4/87, still requiring 144 runs for victory. She batted for the rest of the innings, getting to a total of 67 and steering Australia to victory in the final over of the match. In the third WODI of the series, she played in her 250th international match for Australia Women.

Retirement

In February 2018, Blackwell announced her retirement from international and state career. She featured in 251 matches across all three formats in a career spanning for 15 years. She has written that she sees herself as having been a "good international cricketer", but not a "great" one. She also does not think that she can make a judgement as to whether she was a good leader; "... only my peers can." However, she also feels that she had been her "true self", had spoken up, with respect, to others in the cricketing community in seeking continual improvement, and had "... kept on trying to be the best leader hecould."

One Day International centuries

In her 251 international matches, Blackwell scored three centuries, all of them in ODIs. During the first two of those centuries, both made in 2008, her twin sister Kate was "up the other end". Her third ODI hundred, and highest international score, came just over seven years later, in 2016. It was against India, the same opposing team as for her second ODI century, and at the same venue, Manuka Oval in Canberra, where, as she later wrote, she "... always batted well."

Personal life

Blackwell's

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

is "Seal". She has explained that the origin of the nickname is "... a story which involves the misquoting of lyrics from

the Go Go's The Go-Go's are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboar ...

song '

our lips are sealed "Our Lips Are Sealed" is a song co-written by Jane Wiedlin, guitarist of the Go-Go's, and Terry Hall, singer of the Specials and Fun Boy Three. It was first recorded by the Go-Go's as the opening track on their album '' Beauty and the Beat'' (1 ...

'." In 2013, Blackwell came out as lesbian, the second international player to come out during their playing career after England's

Steven Davies Steven Michael Davies (born 17 June 1986) is an English first-class cricketer, a left-handed batsman who plays for Somerset. He bats in the middle order in first-class cricket and opens in limited-overs. He started as a wicket-keeper, playing ...

. Her wife is fellow cricketer

Lynsey Askew Lynsey Riann Frances Askew (born 3 September 1986) is an English former cricketer who played as a right-arm Fast bowling, medium Bowler (cricket), bowler and right-handed Batting (cricket), batter. She appeared in eight Women's One Day Internati ...

References

External links

*
Speak up if you want change, says this cricket legend
– interview of Blackwell by the ''

Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

''
The leadership and gentleness of Alex Blackwell
– podcast of interview by

Richard Fidler Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, ''

Conversations Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focus ...

'', ABC Radio, 3 October 2022 {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwell, Alex 1983 births Australia women One Day International cricketers Australia women Test cricketers Australia women Twenty20 International cricketers Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Berkshire women cricketers Cricketers from New South Wales Identical twins Lesbian sportswomen Australian LGBT sportspeople Living people New South Wales Breakers cricketers Otago Sparks cricketers People educated at Barker College Sportspeople from Wagga Wagga Sydney Thunder (WBBL) cricketers Australian twins Twin sportspeople Yorkshire Diamonds cricketers LGBT cricketers Female cricket coaches 21st-century LGBT people Wicket-keepers