Sports Live: Former Australian cricketer Lisa Sthalekar was appointed as the president of the Federation of International Cricketers' Association (FICA) at the FICA Executive Committee meeting held in Nyon, Switzerland this week.

Sthalekar is the first woman president of FICA as she joins the list of past players who have been FICA Presidents since its formation, including Barry Richards, Jimmy Adams and most recently Vikram Solanki.

FICA Executive Chairman, Heath Mills praised Lisa and the outgoing president Solanki. He said, "Lisa was clearly the best candidate and her credentials are unparalleled as both a former player and broadcaster.

Her previous roles as an Independent Director of FICA and on the Board of the Australian Cricketers’ Association demonstrate her long standing commitment to the players’ association movement and advancing player rights.

The Ex Co would like to thank Vikram Solanki, our outgoing President, for his significant contributions to FICA over his tenure.”

Incoming FICA President Sthalekar said, “I look forward to working on behalf of our member players’ associations and players, and in particular to working with the ICC to ensure that all players have their rights protected and can work in partnership with administrators to make our game even better.”

She retired from the game after Australia's 2013 ODI World Cup triumph in Mumbai after making her debut as a hard-hitting batter in 2003.

She was at her best in ODIs, scoring 2728 runs in 125 games with two centuries and 16 fifties. Her off-spin was a highly effective weapon as well. She still remains among the top 10 wicket-takers in 50-overs cricket.

She was the first woman to score 1000 runs and take 100 wickets in ODI cricket. She also played eight Tests and 54 T20 International matches.

In 2021, she became only the fourth woman to be inducted into the Australian cricket Hall of Fame.

Dhaka, 21 June (campuslive24.com)//azm