Alex Blackwell (cricketer)

Alex Blackwell (cricketer)

Alexandra Joy Blackwell (born 31 August 1983) is a female cricketer who plays for New South Wales and Australia as a specialist batsman. Her identical twin sister Kate has also played for Australia.

Blackwell made her senior debut for New South Wales in the 2001–02 Women's National Cricket League (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 (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 immediately afterwards, hitting a half-century in the latter fixture.

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 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 in New Zealand's State League, scoring 315 runs at 52.50. However, her international form remained poor and she was dropped mid-way through an ODI tournament in India after making 54 runs in four innings. She earned a recall mid-way through the subsequent Rose Bowl series 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 in England in 2008, Blackwell made 255 runs at 85.00 with a century and two fifties as Australia swept India 5–0 at home at the start of the 2008–09 season. She continued her strong form in the WNCL, scoring 372 runs at 62.00. Blackwell made consecutive fifties in the two warm-up matches and then scored 190 runs at 38.00 as Australia came fourth in the 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 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.