New Cricket Hall of Famer Urges MCG to Honor Women's Legend with Statue

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Former wicketkeeper and leading administrator Christina Matthews was on the front foot at the MCG on Thursday after it was announced she would be inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.

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The 65-year-old, who is the President of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, used a press conference announcing her induction to push for a statue of Betty Wilson to be placed among the sporting legends which ring the famous ground in Melbourne.

Born in Collingwood, Wilson played 11 Tests for Australia between 1947 and 1958 and made 862 runs at an average of 57.46, which included three centuries, while also taking 68 wickets at an average of 11.8. She managed 10 wickets in a Test twice in her career.

“I think the general view here is Betty Wilson should be acknowledged here. There’s been a bit of a push (for a) ‘Bronze for Betty’ statue at the MCG, and let’s hope that’s going to come to pass,” Matthews said.

“The SCG led the way with Belinda Clark and I think the MCG needs to catch up with it. No offense to anybody in that arena, but it is time to recognize our past players with statues.

“The visual cues are so important, people come by and they see, and then they want to know more, and then they understand. So Betty Wilson, (who was) the first person to score 100 and take 10 wickets in a Test match, fully deserves her position here.”

Former Australian cricket player Betty Wilson, who died in 2010, has her own section at the new National Sports Museum at the MCG. There is a push for a statue in her honour to be placed outside the MCG.Source: News Corp Australia

Matthews, who is Australia’s most capped female cricketer in Tests and holds the record for the most dismissals by a wicket-keeper in Test cricket, was delighted to learn of the honour announced prior the the Ashes Test at the MCG.

“It’s just incredible. As a young girl, you grow up only seeing male cricketers, and they become your heroes,” she said.

“And then (at a) certain stage, you start to realise there’s an Australian women’s team. So the work the Hall of Fame has done over the last maybe 10 years now, of introducing women, is fantastic. And I honestly didn’t occur to me that I would ever be given this honor.

“I thought if it included administration, (because) that’s what most people know me for, maybe that. But … when I look back now, you kind of downplay what you did yourself, and so it’s lovely to be recognised.”

Matthews coached current Australian captain Alyssa Healy when she was a teenager and said it is a thrill to see stars blossom at a time where women’s cricket has taken massive strides forward when it comes to professional opportunities and earning capacity.

“To be part of bringing the next generation on has been fantastic, and to see them blossom and see where the game is today and the careers those girls now have (is great),” she said.

“And seeing young boys and girls who now are going to grow up knowing there’s no difference, that anybody can play cricket and, for that matter, football or other things, they’re not seeing everything through a gender lens.”

New Cricket Hall of Famer Urges MCG to Honor Women's Legend with Statue

Matthews said outgoing Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley deserved credit for broadening the opportunities for the nation’s best cricketers, citing the World Cup Final back in 2020 which drew more than 86,000 to the MCG, and this week’s Test as examples.

She said the current crop of Australian cricketers, which are seeking to sweep the Ashes series against England, have furthered the legacy developed over generations of stars who came before them.

“I think they’ve carried on a really strong tradition in Australian women’s cricket, where for many years now, we’ve been dominant over the years, and what this team has done is take to a new level how they manage themselves and how they make sure they’re the best that they can be,” she said.

“We can see the difference between England and Australia by how they present, and that’s a credit to the individuals in the Australian team and the support Cricket Australia gives them. They would sit alongside any athlete in Australia as a model for people growing up and wanting to be part of sport.”