Christina Matthews is the latest inductee in Australian Cricket’s hall of fame ahead of women’s Ashes Test at the MCG.
Christina Matthews has been inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, receiving her award prior to the opening day of the historic women’s Ashes Test at the MCG.
In a career that lasted from 1984 to 1995, Matthews has played the most Test matches for Australia (20), is tied for sixth place all-time worldwide, and has dismissed the most players in women’s Test history (58). She participated in Australia’s 1988 World Cup win at the MCG and played 47 ODIs.
She played state cricket for New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory after beginning her career in Victoria. Matthews is mainly recognised for her role as a prominent administrator in Australian cricket, even though she played more Test matches than any other woman.
Before being named Chief Executive Officer of WA Cricket in 2012, where she led an unprecedented run of success throughout a 12-year tenure, she served on Australia’s women’s selection panel from 2007 to 2011 while employed at Cricket NSW.
After taking over after a period of instability in WA cricket, the Perth Scorchers and WA won a plethora of domestic trophies in both the women’s and men’s domestic competitions during that time. They developed close relationships with cricket general manager Kade Harvey and men’s coaches Adam Voges and Justin Langer. She also had a significant impact on the development of women’s cricket in Australia.
Matthews’ “service to cricket as a player and administrator, and to women” earned her a spot in the 2024 Order of Australia. She holds life membership in the Marylebone Cricket Club and honorary membership in the Melbourne Cricket Club.
Just thirty minutes prior to the opening day of the day-night Ashes Test, Matthews was inducted into the Hall of Fame by Australian Cricket Hall of Fame chair Peter King outside the MCG.
“Thank you to all my teammates who have been part of making this happen, those coaches who helped me enormously,” Matthews said. “And I also want to acknowledge my partner and family who are here today to celebrate this with me and also my mum and dad are no longer with us, but you can’t achieve any of these things without the start they give you.
“I had a choice where it could be presented and I didn’t hesitate to choose this, such a historic occasion. And being from Melbourne myself, the MCG looms large as kind of the iconic ground in the world. So to be part of this and to be recognized in such a great environment is just incredible.
“I did play World Cup final here, which we won in 1988 and I think I spent the whole day just looking around. There’ll be plenty more people here today than there was then. But to get to play on this ground was an unbelievable dream.”