ICC mourns Rachael Heyhoe-Flint’s demise

ICC has expressed sadness at the death of former England women’s captain and ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Rachael Heyhoe-Flint at the age of 77.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has expressed sadness at the death of former England women’s captain and ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Rachael Heyhoe-Flint at the age of 77. In a statement, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said Rachael’s death was an irreparable loss to the game because of her achievements as a cricketer as well as for her wider contribution to the game. “This is a big loss for cricket. Rachael played international cricket for over two decades with so much success and personality that she is understandably the most famous name in women’s cricket. Her achievements both as captain and player are well documented but her contributions stretched far beyond the cricket field.

“Rachael was instrumental in organizing the first Women’s World Cup in 1973 and also went on to lead her team to victory in the tournament. One should remember that men’s cricket introduced its own World Cup only two years later. She was a genuine trailblazer in our sport and paved the way for the wonderful generation of women cricketers whom we watch with such enjoyment today. I would like to extend my sincerest condolences to her family on behalf of everyone at the ICC,” Mr. Richardson said.

Rachael Heyhoe-Flint: The woman who was cricket

Rachael was a batter capable of both attacking play as well as determined defence. She was the first to hit a six in a women’s Test match in 1973 against Australia at The Oval. Three years later, at the same venue and against the same opposition, she produced a patient innings of 179 in 521 minutes that helped salvage a draw that secured the draw in the series.

Between her Test debut against South Africa in 1960 and her last ODI against Australia in 1982, she scored 1594 runs in 22 Test matches with three hundreds at an average of 45.54 and 643 runs in 23 ODIs with one century at 58.45. Rachael, who also played as a goalkeeper for the national hockey team, was a respected commentator in later years. She was the first woman to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.