Alex Blackwell (cricketer) - Established International Cricketer

Established International Cricketer

The domestic competition was followed by two international series against England and New Zealand. Blackwell made 10 as Australia won the T20 international against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground by 21 runs. In the ODIs that followed, drawn 2–2, Blackwell established herself at international level. After scoring 11 in an Australian defeat in the first ODI, she struck 101—her maiden ODI century—the next day at the MCG to set up an 84-run win. After making five as England took a 2–1 series lead, Blackwell made 61 in the final match to help set up a series-levelling 41-run win. She ended the series with 178 runs at 44.50. In the one-off Test at Bowral, Blackwell opened the innings. She made one as Australia batted first and reached 154 in their first innings before conceding a 90-run first innings lead. In the second innings, she made 24 before being bowled for the second time in the matches by paceman Isa Guha as the tourists won by six wickets in hand.

The Australians then headed to Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, New Zealand, for a T20 international and five ODIs. Blackwell made 15 and took two catches as the hosts won the T20 by four wickets. She then made 44 of 5/189 to help secure a 63-run win in the first ODI. In the next two matches, she made seven twice, as the hosts claimed both matches to take the series lead. Australia thus needed to win the remaining two matches. In the fourth match, Blackwell made 61 in an Australian win by six runs. In the final match, she made 91 to help steer Australia to their target of 250 and a series-clinching eight-wicket win. Blackwell ended the series with 211 runs at 42.20. For the whole international season, she scored 389 runs at 43.22 to establish herself at international level.

During the 2008 Australian winter, Blackwell travelled to England for a domestic season in the northern hemisphere summer, playing for Berkshire in the county competition, and Rubies in the Super Fours. Blackwell failed to capitalise on her starts for the county, registering scores of 41, 22, 0, 39 and 30 in her five one-day innings for a total of 132 runs at 26.40. It was a similar story in four one-dayers for Rubies, making 58 runs at 14.50 with a best of 26. Blackwell had little impact in the T20s for Rubies, making four and a duck.

The 2008–09 Australian season started with a tour by India. Blackwell started with 0/14 from her only over and scored 14 in a six-wicket win in the T20 match. She was prominent as the hosts completed a 5–0 clean sweep of the ODIs. In the first match at Hurstville Oval, she made 75 in an eight-wicket win. After making eight and one not out in the next two matches, Blackwell made 106 not out, setting up a 118-run win in the fourth match at Manuka Oval. She ended the series with 65 run out in the seven-wicket win in the final match. Blackwell aggregated 255 runs at 85.00 for the series.

Blackwell had a slow start to the WNCL, failing to pass 22 in her first three innings; she made an unbeaten 50 in an eight-wicket win over Western Australia, and then struck an unbeaten 101 as New South Wales made 1/176 to defeat South Australia by nine wickets. The next day, she made 75 but it was not enough to prevent a 39-run loss against the same team. In the two final round-robin matches against Victoria, she made 70 not out in a nine-wicket win, her fourth consecutive score above 50. The streak ended with 22 in a three-wicket win the next day, and New South Wales hosted the final the following week against the same team. Blackwell made only three as New South Wales made 4/120 to win by six wickets. She ended the season with 372 runs at 62.00.