On International Women’s Day, Cricket Australia has revealed plans to address gender imbalance in the sport with the formation of a Recognition of Women in Cricket Working Group.

The group includes Cricket Australia interim CEO, Nick Hockley, Angela Pippos, Christina Matthews, Kerrie Mather, Kirst Henshall, Kristene Reynolds, Lisa Sthalekar, Rachael Haynes, and Rina Hore.

The first focus for the group is on building the first sculpture of a women’s cricketer at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), with endorsement from Venues NSW, with the sculpture to join the 73 current known statues or sculptures of male cricketers across Australia.

The group believes this first step will help address the imbalance of public recognition for women in cricket and works to support Cricket Australia’s wider Female Engagement Strategy.

Speaking on International Women’s Day, Hockley said the formation of the group highlights Cricket Australia’s commitment to grow the game of cricket for women and girls.

“Just as this year’s International Women’s Day theme promotes ‘choose to challenge’, we are committed to challenging ourselves to continue to address gender inequality across our game,” Hockley said.

“Precisely one year ago to the day, we were celebrating a ground-breaking moment when 86,174 fans packed out the MCG for the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

“So many challenges have been presented since that day, and it is now more important than ever that we keep pushing for equality in cricket and keep building the momentum established before the pandemic.

“This is a historic moment for the game with Venues NSW today committing to the first sculpture of a female cricket at the Sydney Cricket ground, and we can’t thank Kerrie and her team enough for their leadership,” he said.

Venues NSW CEO, Kerrie Mather, who is also a member of the working group, said: “The working group’s aims have the full support of Venues NSW and I am delighted that the first sculpture of a female cricketer will be unveiled at the SCG in the months ahead.”

“The SCG precinct has hosted some of the world’s greatest female athletes including cricketers Betty Wilson, Belinda Clark, Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry, Rachael Haynes, and even the Gregory sisters who played in the first ever organised women’s cricket match on this day 135 years ago at what was then the Association Ground.

“In addition, Cricket Australia has co-commissioned a piece of artwork with the Melbourne Cricket Club that will depict the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 Final.

“The artwork will be painted by award-winning artist Vincent Fantauzzo and will begin to redress the imbalance of artwork that depicts women’s sport at the ground.

“The piece will be showcased within the level two corridors of the MCC Members’ Reserve where it will feature as a regular of the MCG Tour route, meaning more than 40,000 school children each year will learn the powerful story of the T20 World Cup Final,” she said.