Lindsay Reeler
Encyclopedia
Lindsay Anne Reeler is a former New South Wales Breakers
and Australia cricket
er. A right-handed opening batsman
and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, she played 10 Test matches
for Australia between 1984 and 1987, scoring a century against England in her penultimate Test match in August 1987. She has also played 23 One Day Internationals for Australia, scoring 1034 runs with two centuries and eight half-centuries at an average in the high-fifties.
at the age of 19, taking one wicket and scoring five runs in a drawn two-day match with South Australia. She made just three appearances in her maiden season, all coming in January 1981.
The following season saw her play in all but one of New South Wales' ten Australian Women's Cricket Championships matches, and she was rewarded with her first half-century for the club, as she top-scored with 53 against Western Australia. The 1982/83 season saw her average drop to 9.00, as she scored 36 runs in her four matches, but 1983/84 saw her hit far better form. In her opening match of the season, she scored 70 to help New South Wales set a first-innings declaration total of 166, although opponents Queensland rallied with 277 in their second innings and the match finished a draw. Two matches later, she hit 164 runs in 236 minutes, including 22 fours against Australian Capital Territory.
. Batting at number four, she was named Player of the Match as she scored 60 runs and put on 80 with Trish Dawson for the fourth-wicket, helping her team to chase down the Indian total. She opened the batting for Australia for the remainder of the tour, adding 85 further ODI runs and trailing only Dawson in ODI runs in the series. Her Test debut came in the same series, where she performed solidly but less emphatically. Opening the batting alongside Peta Verco
in five of her six innings, Reeler scored 148 runs without making a half-century and trailed her opening partner by some way in the batting charts for the series. She didn't feature in the first two Tests against the touring English the following summer, but on her return in the Third Test made her maiden half-century in 146 balls. She failed reach 50 again in the final two Tests or the three-match ODI series, and did not appear in the subsequent series against New Zealand.
In 1987, she was selected as part of the squad to tour the British Isles
, and in the first ODI against Ireland she hit a match-winning 83 runs as Australia won by 110 runs. After missing the second Test, she again made a match-winning performance, passing her previous score to record 84 runs in a 105 run victory. A score of 109 in a warm-up match against Surrey Women was her first for Australia, and she made half-centuries in the first and third ODIs of the series. After a score of 3 in her solitary innings in the First Test, Reeler struggled in two matches against West and West Midlands Women.
A century against a North Women side containing England captain Carole Hodges
and wicketkeeper Jane Powell
helped secure an Australian 166 run victory just four days before the Second Test. Reeler opened the batting in the Second Test as Australia chased an English first-innings total of 201. After losing the early wickets of Denise Emerson
and Belinda Haggett
, Reeler was joined at the crease by Denise Annetts
. The pair put on a women's Test record partnership of 309 runs, Reeler finishing on 110* and Annetts on 193.
New South Wales Breakers
The New South Wales Breakers are the women's representative cricket team for New South Wales and they compete in the Women's National Cricket League...
and Australia cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er. A right-handed opening batsman
Batting order (cricket)
In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batsmen play through their team's innings, there always being two batsmen taking part at any one time...
and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, she played 10 Test matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
for Australia between 1984 and 1987, scoring a century against England in her penultimate Test match in August 1987. She has also played 23 One Day Internationals for Australia, scoring 1034 runs with two centuries and eight half-centuries at an average in the high-fifties.
Early career
Urged by her father, Ian, to take up cricket, Reeler didn't start playing until she was 15, and then lacked the self-discipline to truly progress. A move to opening batsman changed that, and gave her the self-confidence to improve. As a teenager, she played for Ravenswood High School, but craving greater competition, she trained and played with the boys at nearby Barker College. She appeared for New South Wales BreakersNew South Wales Breakers
The New South Wales Breakers are the women's representative cricket team for New South Wales and they compete in the Women's National Cricket League...
at the age of 19, taking one wicket and scoring five runs in a drawn two-day match with South Australia. She made just three appearances in her maiden season, all coming in January 1981.
The following season saw her play in all but one of New South Wales' ten Australian Women's Cricket Championships matches, and she was rewarded with her first half-century for the club, as she top-scored with 53 against Western Australia. The 1982/83 season saw her average drop to 9.00, as she scored 36 runs in her four matches, but 1983/84 saw her hit far better form. In her opening match of the season, she scored 70 to help New South Wales set a first-innings declaration total of 166, although opponents Queensland rallied with 277 in their second innings and the match finished a draw. Two matches later, she hit 164 runs in 236 minutes, including 22 fours against Australian Capital Territory.
International career
Fifteen days after her century for New South Wales, she made her international debut for Australia during their tour of IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Batting at number four, she was named Player of the Match as she scored 60 runs and put on 80 with Trish Dawson for the fourth-wicket, helping her team to chase down the Indian total. She opened the batting for Australia for the remainder of the tour, adding 85 further ODI runs and trailing only Dawson in ODI runs in the series. Her Test debut came in the same series, where she performed solidly but less emphatically. Opening the batting alongside Peta Verco
Peta Verco
Peta Verco is a former women's cricketer for Australia whose international playing career ran from 1977 until 1985. A right-handed batsman, Verco scored a century in Test cricket.-External links:...
in five of her six innings, Reeler scored 148 runs without making a half-century and trailed her opening partner by some way in the batting charts for the series. She didn't feature in the first two Tests against the touring English the following summer, but on her return in the Third Test made her maiden half-century in 146 balls. She failed reach 50 again in the final two Tests or the three-match ODI series, and did not appear in the subsequent series against New Zealand.
In 1987, she was selected as part of the squad to tour the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, and in the first ODI against Ireland she hit a match-winning 83 runs as Australia won by 110 runs. After missing the second Test, she again made a match-winning performance, passing her previous score to record 84 runs in a 105 run victory. A score of 109 in a warm-up match against Surrey Women was her first for Australia, and she made half-centuries in the first and third ODIs of the series. After a score of 3 in her solitary innings in the First Test, Reeler struggled in two matches against West and West Midlands Women.
A century against a North Women side containing England captain Carole Hodges
Carole Hodges
Carole Hodges played 18 test matches for the England women's cricket team between 1984 and 1991/2 ....
and wicketkeeper Jane Powell
Jane Powell (cricketer)
Jane Powell is a former captain of the England women's cricket team.Powell played in six Test matches and 24 One Day Internationals, with a highest score of 115* against India...
helped secure an Australian 166 run victory just four days before the Second Test. Reeler opened the batting in the Second Test as Australia chased an English first-innings total of 201. After losing the early wickets of Denise Emerson
Denise Emerson
Denise Emerson is a former Australian cricketer who played domestic cricket for New South Wales Women and Western Australia Women, as well as making a number of appearances for the Australian national women's team...
and Belinda Haggett
Belinda Haggett
Belinda Jane Haggett is a former New South Wales Breakers and Australia cricketer. A right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, she played 10 Test matches for Australia between 1987 and 1992, scoring 762 runs including four half-centuries and two centuries. On her Test...
, Reeler was joined at the crease by Denise Annetts
Denise Annetts
Denise Audrey Annetts is a former women's cricketer for New South Wales Breakers and Australia whose international playing career ran from 1985 until 1993...
. The pair put on a women's Test record partnership of 309 runs, Reeler finishing on 110* and Annetts on 193.