Alex Blackwell
Alexandra Joy Blackwell is a former Australian Captain and the first woman to play over 250 matches for Australia.
Under Alex’s captaincy, the Australian team won the T20 World Cup and The Ashes. Since her retirement Alex has continued to be involved in the game as a board member, commentator and spokesperson for equality and inclusion.
In February 2019, Alex accepted President Jim Maxwell’s invitation to become an Ambassador for the Primary Club of Australia and attends special events and webinars when her diary permits.
In the same year, she announced her retirement from elite cricket after a career that spanned 18 years. Her identical twin sister Kate also played for Australia.
After initially studying medicine at university – and having to change degrees so she could play cricket for Australia – she now works as a genetic counsellor in addition to being a commentator on Fox Sports and ABC Grandstand, and the Head Coach at Universities Women’s Cricket Club. She is a patron of Pride in Sport and the LBW Trust of Australia, an ambassador of the Primary Club, a Doctor of the University of New South Wales and a former non-executive director of Cricket NSW.
In 2021 Alex was awarded an honorary life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club.
Her book Fair Game, co-written with Megan Maurice, was published in 2022. It is an unflinching account of life in Australia's most loved sporting team, told by one of its most lauded members. It reveals not only the extreme dedication and skill it takes to be the best, but also what it is like to feel like an outsider in cricket - even as one of the game's most decorated players.