Alex Blackwell

Alexandra Joy Blackwell (born 31 August 1983) is a former professional cricketer and Australian women's cricket captain who played for New South Wales and Australia as a specialist batter.

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.

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.

After making her international debut in 2002-2003, she went on to play more matches for Australia than any other female cricketer in history.

Blackwell made her international debut in 2003 in a quadrangular One Day International (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 then made her Test debut in a two-match series against England at the Gabba in Brisbane, hitting a half-century in the latter fixture.

Following this, Blackwell was retained for the Second Test at Bankstown Oval in Sydney.

Australia batted first and Blackwell came in at 4/90.

Soon after, her partners Mel Jones and Hayes fell in quick succession as Australia lost 3/13 to be 6/103.

Blackwell then added 21 with Cathryn Fitzpatrick 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 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 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, as the hosts took out the series 5–1.

In December 2004 Blackwell participated in a seven-match bilateral ODI series against India.

She played in the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth matches of the series, ending with 34 runs at 8.50.

The Australians hosted New Zealand for three Rose Bowl ODIs in the western coastal city of Perth before the teams crossed the Indian Ocean to reach South Africa.

Blackwell 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 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.

A highlight of Blackwell's career was captaining the 2010 Women's team to World Twenty20 victory.

In 2013, Blackwell became the first female international cricketer to publicly come out as gay.

She has been a passionate advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and represented Cricket Australia in the 2015 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

She has also been a vocal supporter of the inclusion of transgender cricketers at all levels.

Blackwell was born in Wagga Wagga, but raised in Yenda, a small rural town outside of Griffith, New South Wales.

She and her identical twin sister Kate attended Barker College on the North Shore of Sydney as boarders.

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 has also played for Australia.

After retiring from cricket, Blackwell returned to her previous career as a genetic counsellor.

Her memoir, Fair Game, was published in 2022.