Retired all-rounder Shelley Nitschke has claimed her fourth straight Belinda Clark Award (formerly the Women’s International Player of the Year Award) at the Allan Border Medal in Melbourne this evening.
The South Australian, who polled 33 votes, edged out fellow all-rounder Lisa Sthalekar, who finished with 31 votes and Alex Blackwell (26).
The left-hand bat and left-arm orthodox spinner played a total of 13 matches in the voting period, amassing 285 runs at an average of 23.75, while also taking 21 wickets at 17.62 apiece.
It is also the fourth year in a row Sthalekar has come second, following her consistent efforts throughout the last 12 months, which included 20 matches in the voting period, 285 runs at an average of 21.92 and 30 wickets at 18.23 apiece.
Nitschke announced her retirement from international cricket in July last year following the Quadrangular Series final in England. At the time of announcing her retirement from international cricket she was the world’s No. 1 all-rounder and bowler.
She decided to play one final season of state cricket with South Australia as a mentor to their younger players before retiring from all forms of cricket in December at the age of 35.
Nitschke collected a host of accolades during her international career, including the 2005 World Cup, the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup and she was named the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2010.
The voting period for the award includes all Test, One-Day International and T20 International matches played between 18 February 2011 and 3 February 2012.
The Women’s International Player of the Year trophy was renamed the Belinda Clark Award this year in honour of one of the games’ greats. Clark played 15 Tests, scoring 919 runs at an average of 45.95, and 118 ODIs, amassing 4844 runs at 47.49.
Women’s International Player of the Year – Top 3
Shelley Nitschke – 33 votes
Lisa Sthalekar – 31
Alex Blackwell – 26
Previous Winners
2002- Karen Rolton
2003- Karen Rolton
2004- Cathryn Fitzpatrick
2005- Karen Rolton
2006- Karen Rolton
2007- Lisa Sthalekar
2008- Lisa Sthalekar
2009- Shelley Nitschke
2010- Shelley Nitschke
2011 – Shelley Nitschke
Shelley Nitschke
Born: 3 December, 1976
State: South Australia
Batting style: Left-hand bat
Bowling style: Left-arm off-spin
Test debut: England Women v Australia Women at Hove, Aug 9-12, 2005
ODI debut: India Women v Australia Women at Mysore, Dec 11, 2004
T20I debut: England Women v Australia Women at Taunton, Sep 2, 2005
Statistics in the Voting Period
| M | Inn | NO | Runs | Ave | HS | Ov | Mdn | W | Runs | Ave | BB | Ct | |
| Nitschke, S | 13 | 13 | 1 | 285 | 23.75 | 78 | 86.4 | 5 | 21 | 370 | 17.62 | 3-35 | 3 |
Career Statistics
Batting and fielding averages
|
Mat |
Inns |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
BF |
SR |
100 |
50 |
4s |
6s |
Ct |
St |
|
| Tests |
6 |
11 |
2 |
295 |
88* |
32.77 |
810 |
36.41 |
0 |
2 |
42 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| ODIs |
80 |
69 |
9 |
2047 |
113* |
34.11 |
2895 |
70.70 |
1 |
14 |
242 |
20 |
31 |
0 |
| T20Is |
36 |
35 |
2 |
776 |
56 |
23.51 |
734 |
105.72 |
0 |
3 |
92 |
3 |
6 |
0 |
Bowling averages
|
Mat |
Inns |
Balls |
Runs |
Wkts |
BBI |
BBM |
Ave |
Econ |
SR |
4w |
5w |
10 |
|
| Tests |
6 |
11 |
1180 |
335 |
12 |
3/59 |
3/38 |
27.91 |
1.70 |
98.3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| ODIs |
80 |
78 |
3632 |
2170 |
98 |
7/24 |
7/24 |
22.14 |
3.58 |
37.0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
| T20Is |
36 |
35 |
768 |
705 |
43 |
4/21 |
4/21 |
16.39 |
5.50 |
17.8 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
(Stats supplied by Bronwyn Calver and Cricinfo)
