Lisa Sthalekar becomes First Woman President of FICA

Former Australian captain Lisa Sthalekar becomes first woman President of FICA

Sthalekar

Former captain of the Australian Women’s Cricket team, Lisa Sthalekar, has been appointed President of the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA), becoming the first woman in history to hold the position. 

The two-time Belinda Clarke award winner and popular commentator was confirmed as the President at the FICA executive committee meeting held in Switzerland this week, where she said she is “extremely honoured and excited to be FICA’s new president.”

“We are entering a new phase of the game which covers more cricket than ever before for our male and female players,” she said. “More countries are playing the game which demonstrates that cricket is certainly becoming a global game.”

“I look forward to working on behalf of our member players’ associations and players, and in particular to working with the ICC to ensure that all players have their rights protected and can work in partnership with administrators to make our game even better.”

Sthalekar represented Australia in 187 international matches during her twelve-year playing career. 

Born in India, she began playing for New South Wales and scored her maiden Test hundred against England in 2003. 

She went on to score a total of 2728 runs across 125 ODI matches, including two centuries and 16 fifties. 

She was also widely known for her off-spin skills, remaining among the top 10 wicket-takers in 50-overs cricket.

During the T20 World Cup final in 2010, she played a key role in Australia’s victory against New Zealand. 

Sthalekar also won the prestigious Belinda Clarke award for two consecutive years— 2007 and 2008.  She ended her career in 2013 as a World Cup winner, picking up 2 for 20 in the final against West Indies.

Last year, she became only the fourth woman to be inducted into the prestigious Australian cricket Hall of Fame.


FICA’s executive chairman Heath Mills said Sthalekar was “clearly the best candidate and her credentials are unparalleled as both a former player and broadcaster.” 

“Her previous roles as an independent director of FICA and on the board of the Australian Cricketers’ Association demonstrate her long-standing commitment to the players’ association movement and advancing player rights,” Mills said. 

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