JIMINY’S Indoor Cricket Centre in Port Macquarie was where Australian women’s cricket star Alex Blackwell learnt her skills.
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At the time she didn’t believe becoming a professional female athlete was possible, but she will return to where it all started this weekend.
The Sydney Thunder, New South Wales and Southern Star will attend the Hastings River District Cricket Association presentation night on Friday.
The 33-year-old weighed in to the debate about women’s pay when compared with men’s pay on the sporting field.
“To be professional now is a real privilege,” she said.
“We’re not going to be paid the same as the men because they play more than us right at this point in time and are away from their families a lot more.
“So we won’t be paid the same but we’re working towards equal pay for equal work and cricket’s leading the way in that regard.”
We won’t be paid the same but we’re working towards equal pay for equal work and cricket’s leading the way in that regard.
- Alex Blackwell
Blackwell said her state side was making some inroads into narrowing the gap between men’s and women’s sport.
“We are the first female domestic sporting team to compete in Australia and what we’ve done in one season shows what can be done when the desire is there to equally value women,” she said.
Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association on behalf of the players are currently negotiating the next memorandum of understanding.
It is hoped it will be over a five year period of agreement to terms and conditions.
“I’m encouraged with the professionalising of the women’s game where all international squad members will be full-time and fully professional,” Blackwell said.
“That will then hopefully filter down to full-time professional domestic cricket for women which will be a huge step forward and it’s something cricket can be proud of.
“As a sport we want to set a bit of a legacy where we are gender blind and it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, you get the same opportunities.”
Blackwell said a swim at Shelly Beach was high on her priority list for her first visit to Port Macquarie in three years.
“I really enjoy that coastal environment where I spent a lot of time as a kid,” she said.
“I was only in Port Macquarie from age four til about nine or 10, so not long, but really influential years where I first learnt how to play cricket and soccer and fell in love with the ocean.
“It’s nice to be heading back.”
The former St Agnes Primary School student will also drop in to her old school on Friday from 2pm to spend some time with the students.
