Sutherland Wins Back-to-Back Belinda Clark Awards

Annabel Sutherland has claimed the prestigious Belinda Clark Award for the second consecutive year, reaffirming her status as Australia’s leading female cricketer.

Sutherland edged out Beth Mooney in a tight vote, polling 77 votes to 74, with performances during the ODI World Cup period proving decisive. The voting window also included Australia’s three-match T20I series against New Zealand last March and a three-game ODI series against India prior to the World Cup.

In addition to the top honour, Sutherland also secured the ODI Player of the Year award. She becomes the first player since Meg Lanning (2014 and 2015) to win the Belinda Clark Award in consecutive years. Current Australia coach Shelly Nitschke previously won the award four years in a row from 2009 to 2012, while Karen Rolton and Lisa Sthalekar have also achieved back-to-back wins.

“That’s pretty special to be alongside a few of those names,” Sutherland said. “I think it’s pretty cool and very surreal at the moment.

“I was pretty surprised to be honest. I hadn’t put much thought into it around who was going to win. [An] absolutely special feeling and super grateful to receive the award from BC [Belinda Clark].”

Across nine ODIs during the voting period, Sutherland scored 216 runs at an average of 43.20, including a top score of 98 not out against England, and claimed 19 wickets at 18.84. She also impressed in the T20I series against New Zealand, taking eight wickets in three matches.

Mooney, meanwhile, was named T20I Player of the Year after amassing 166 runs at 83.00 in the New Zealand series.

Legspinner Alana King finished third in the overall voting, highlighted by her 13 wickets at the ODI World Cup, including a record-breaking 7 for 18 against South Africa.

Nicola Carey and Caoimhe Bray were earlier announced as Domestic Player of the Year and Betty Wilson Young Cricketer of the Year, respectively.

The annual Cricket Australia awards are traditionally presented at a gala ceremony, but scheduling conflicts involving both the men’s and women’s teams meant a joint event was not feasible this year. In 2025, Travis Head received the Allan Border Medal in a hotel presentation in Sri Lanka. The 2026 men’s award winners will be announced at a later date.

“It looked different [but] still special obviously to have Belinda Clark there and do it in front of the team, most importantly,” Sutherland said. “It’d be nice to get the whole of the Australian cricket world together to be able to celebrate, but it wasn’t to be this year.”

Meanwhile, former Australia captain Alex Blackwell was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame on Sunday. Blackwell’s international career spanned from 2003 to 2018, during which she played 251 matches across formats, including 12 Tests, 144 ODIs and 95 T20Is.

In ODIs, she scored 3,492 runs at an average of 36.00, including all three of her international centuries, and was part of Australia’s World Cup-winning teams in 2005 and 2013. She also captained Australia to their first T20 World Cup title in 2010.