London: Fast bowlers -- Alan Davidson of Australia and Curtly Ambrose of West Indies -- and former Australia women`s team captain Belinda Clark has been inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
The ICC and the Federation of International Cricketers` Associations (FICA) today named Davidson and Ambrose along with the late Frederick Spofforth of Australia to join the 63 male members of the Hall of Fame, while Clark became the second woman to be included in the elite list.
While the trio of Ambrose, Davidson and Clark attended a special Hall of Fame brunch today to celebrate their induction, the late Spofforth will be included into the list later next year in a ceremony involving his family.
Davidson took 186 Test wickets and scored 1328 Test runs in his 44 appearances for his country between 1953 and 1963. During the last five years of his career, he took 170 Test wickets at 19.25 in 32 Tests, only four of which were lost.
After his departure, Australia struggled, winning only one Test series in four years.
In Australia`s 1960-61 home series against West Indies, in the first tied Test in Brisbane, he became the first player to take 10 wickets and accumulate more than a hundred runs in a match despite a broken finger on his bowling hand.
"Since being selected for the first time for my country. This is an amazing recognition and I am proud of it. My whole dream since I was nine years old was to play for Australia. It was most extraordinary feeling. This is an acknowledgment of my career, so this is equally as great," said the 82-year-old.
Ambrose was the most lethal pace bowler of his generation, taking 405 Test wickets at 20.99 besides featuring in 176 ODIs, claiming 225 wickets at an average of 24.12.
Two of his most noticeable performances came against England and Australia. He took 6-24 to help hustle England out for 46 in Trinidad in 1993, while he took a series-clinching seven wickets for 25 runs, including nine maiden overs, against Australia at the WACA in the previous season.
"Well for me personally it is a privilege and an honour to be inducted in the Hall of Fame. In the history of cricket there have been many great cricketers and to be part of that elite group, am very happy and am very humbled," Ambrose said.
Clark captained Australian women`s national team to five World Cup victories in her time at the helm, losing just 17 matches in her 101 games in charge. She still holds the record in the women`s game for the most amount of matches as captain.
The former captain, who averaged over 50 runs in the 15 Test matches and 40 in 118 ODIs, was the first player (male or female) to score a double-century in ODI cricket when she scored 229 against Denmark in Mumbai in 1997.
Since her retirement in 2005 nobody managed to surpass her record of 4844 ODI runs.
PTI
First Published: Monday, September 12, 2011, 18:12