An explosive all-rounder who was equally adept with bat and ball, Lisa Sthalekar is one of the most reputed figures in Australian women’s cricket. She was the first ever women’s cricketer to complete the double of 1000 ODI runs and 100 wickets. A product of New South Wales, she rose through the ranks quickly in the domestic circuit and at the age of 21, she was ready to make her ODI debut for Australia.

Lisa’s all-round prowess was a central part of Australia’s fortunes during the 2000s, including their World Cup win in 2005 where her credentials as a world class all-rounder were displayed on the grandest stage, including a half-century in the final. Lisa added more silverware in 2010 and 2012 when Australia emerged victorious in the World Twenty20 tournaments and in 2013 where they notched up another World Cup title. She also played a prominent role in Test cricket although she didn’t get to play for long in the format. A strong character, Lisa’s ability to rise to the occasion was evident in most of the tournament finals that she played in.

Lisa was born in Pune, India but was adopted by an Australian couple who were settled in USA. Eventually the family settled in Sydney and it was her father who sowed the seeds of cricket in Lisa from a very tender age. As she grew up, the talent was evident and she excelled at school levels where it was obvious that she would go on to make it big. One of Lisa’s biggest strengths was her flexibility to adapt across formats and this is what made her the great player that she became.

She won the ICC Women’s Player of the Year in successive years (2007,2008) while also being awarded the ICC Women’s T20 Player of the Year in 2012. For a player of such class and stature, Lisa’s career had the perfect ending in 2013 with Australia lifting the World Cup in India, her country of birth. She decided to retire after the success and soon, switched to television commentary where she has been active ever since.

Written by Hariprasad Sadanandan