Mystery as SCG announces it will unveil the world’s FIRST statue of a female cricket star

A new statue will be unveiled at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday and for the first time ever it will be of a female cricketer.

Cricket fans feverishly debated who would own the mysterious statue, with legendary NSW figures Belinda Clark, Ellyse Perry and Lisa Sthalekar being cited as the top candidates.

Others preferred to see cricketers from many moons ago, figures like Betty Wilson and Margaret Peden ensuring that generations to come had a platform to play the game they loved.

Belinda Clark and Ellyse Perry are two giant figures of Australia’s women’s cricket team, which fans are speculating could be the first-ever female statue

‘I hope they start over, Margaret Peden, the first Australian captain. Then work your way through a long list of deserving women for years to come,” prominent statistician Rick Eyre posted on Twitter.

“Ellyse Perry should get one, but I don’t think any player should get that kind of award while they’re still playing. Once absolutely retired,” wrote another.

Ahead of Thursday’s reveal, Daily Mail Australia goes through the possible players who could be immortalized.

Linda Clark

Belinda Clark is the most likely candidate to be immortalized as a statue at the SCG due to her incredible standing and legacy in the game, which continues to this day

The most obvious candidate for the very first statue seems to be the legendary Belinda Clark. A pioneer of football on and off the field, Clark is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time.

She became the first player – of either sex – to score a double century in an ODI, and captained Australia to two World Cup titles and seven domestic championships.

Not only was Clark the ultimate technician, averaging 46 over 118 ODIs and 15 tests; She was the ultimate humble, well-spoken role model for children at a time when women’s cricket was finally starting to gain traction in the public eye, when fans realized the talent there was on display.

Her tremendous contribution to Australian cricket continues to this day, with the legend moving to key off-field roles immediately after retiring, flawlessly. After coaching elite juniors, Clark, who attended Harvard Business School, took a prominent role at Cricket Australia before running the Australian Cricket Academy in Brisbane and being responsible for numerous talented players making their international debuts.

She has also been a member of the International Cricket Council’s Women’s Committee for well over a decade and is in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame for her incredible contribution to sport.

Her flawless cover drive would make a brilliant pose for a statue.

Betty Wilson

Betty Wilson, pictured batting in England in 1951, was one of the best all-rounders to play the game and paved the way for many more cricketers to follow her

One of the best all-rounders to play the game, Wilson became the first cricketer of either sex to score a century and win 10 wickets in a Test. The right-handed batter, off-spinner and brilliant fielder represented Australia on both sides of World War II and was the first female cricketer ever to be inducted into the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame.

Her 862 runs @ 57 and 68 wickets @ 11 from just 11 tests underscores just how special her talent was. She laid the groundwork for the Clarks, Perrys and Lannings of future generations.

Elly Perry

There is no doubt that Perry, who will go down in history as one of our greatest cricketers of all time, will one day be immortalized in bronze outside of the SCG. The 32-year-old became the youngest player of either sex to make her international debut for Australia when she arrived with a bang as a 16-year-old breakaway.

There really isn’t anything she hasn’t achieved in the game – and there are still many years left in her incredible career. Not only is she a brilliant cricketer like Clark, Perry has been a fantastic role model as female cricketers enjoy greater visibility and recognition from fans and has inspired a whole generation of little Pez’s.

Ellyse Perry will go down in history as one of the greatest cricketers of all time, but her career is far from over and there is much more brilliance to come

She holds the record for the highest score (213*) in a women’s test, won seven World Cups with Australia; and dominated at the state level with 11 WNCL championships and two WBBL titles with the Sixers. There really isn’t a facet of the game that doesn’t rightly claim it as the best in the world.

I’m not sure if her time is now, but it will come one day and kids will enjoy an impromptu game of cricket at Pez’s future statue.

Lisa Stalekar

Sthalekar is on the committee that decided who would be the first female statue, but hey: she’s as qualified as anyone.

The off-spinning all-rounder was also one of the best outfield players Australia has ever produced and was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2020. The first woman to hit 1000 runs and win 100 wickets in ODIs, “Shaker” was the consummate professional who of his own accord won multiple world titles for the country.

Lisa Sthalekar was a superstar of the game for the Sydney Sixers, NSW and Australia and her legacy continues well beyond her playing days as a top commentator and former elite development coach

Like Clark, Sthalekar hasn’t just achieved it all on the cricket field; She has ensured that the game will continue to improve in retirement. After many years of developing female cricketers at CricketNSW, the talented commentator now traipses across the world commenting and sharing her incredible cricket brains for the whole world to hear.

Margaret Peden

Peden, who has junior leagues named after her in several Australian states, was our country’s first female captain and founded the Australian Women’s Cricket Council back in 1930.

Simply put, the women’s game Down Under wouldn’t exist without Peden. The Talented

Zoe Goss

WA all-rounder Zoe Goss made the world sit up and take notice when she defeated Brian Lara in a 1994 SCG charity game

Whilst Goss is a Western Australian personality, her most iconic moment came at SCG in 1994 when she sidelined one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game: Brian Lara.

The towering Quick was also strong with bat in hand and gave women’s cricket one of its first iconic moments in public. Unfortunately for Goss, she would have been made a statue in her home state were it not for the ridiculous misogyny of a crowd of veteran male WACA members.

Believe Thomas

Local cricketers Faith Thomas (left) and Ash Gardener (right) have put many youths on trial

Thomas only played the one Test for Australia but her legacy extends beyond what she has done on a sports ground

When Faith Thomas stepped onto the lawn of Melbourne’s Junction Oval for her Test debut in 1958, she became the first Indigenous woman to represent Australia in ANY sport.

The Indigenous Nurse was a dominant force on Adelaide’s cricket scene in the 1950s and while statistics on her influence on the field are somewhat sparse, it is clear that her legacy transcended the picket fence and affected First Nations peoples on the field around the world inspired Australia.

And allowed players like current Indigenous Superstar Ash Gardener to thrive on the biggest stage.