Karen Rolton

Karen Louise Rolton (born 21 November 1974) is an Australian former cricketer and captain of the national women's team. A left-handed batter, she has scored the most runs for her country in women's Test cricket.^[1]

Karen Rolton

Personal information
Full name	Karen Louise Rolton
Born	(1974-11-21) 21 November 1974 (age 50) Adelaide, South Australia
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Left-arm medium
Role	Batter
International information
National side	Australia (1995–2009)
Test debut (cap 127)	28 February 1995 v New Zealand
Last Test	10 July 2009 v England
ODI debut (cap 77)	14 February 1995 v New Zealand
Last ODI	5 July 2009 v England
ODI shirt no.	21
T20I debut (cap 10)	2 September 2005 v England
Last T20I	25 June 2009 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1994/95–2010/11	South Australia
Career statistics
Competition WTest WODI WT20I Matches 14 141 15 Runs scored 1,002 4,814 405 Batting average 55.66 48.14 50.62 100s/50s 2/5 8/33 0/2 Top score 209* 154* 96* Balls bowled 1,104 3,267 36 Wickets 14 85 3 Bowling average 23.35 20.81 12.33 5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 Best bowling 2/6 4/29 2/26 Catches/stumpings 9/– 25/– 6/–
Medal record Women's Cricket Representing  Australia ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Winner 1997 India Runner-up 2000 New Zealand Winner 2005 South Africa
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 2 January 2017

International cricket

After making her international debut in 1995, Rolton went on to become a member of two successful world championship campaigns.^[2][3] In the final of the 2005 Women's Cricket World Cup, she scored 107 not out and was adjudged Player of the Match.^[3] Her numerous individual honours include being named ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year in 2006 and winning the Belinda Clark Award four times.^[4][5] New Zealand coach Steve Jenkin once remarked that the best tactic against her was to avoid dismissing the Australian team's openers so she could not bat.^[6]

In 2006, Rolton became the captain of the national team, taking over from Belinda Clark.^[7] She led Australia in the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup on home soil, although the team performed below expectations and finished in fourth place.^[8][9]

Records and statistics

Across 14 Test matches, Rolton scored 1,002 runs at an average of 55.66 which included two centuries and five half-centuries. She made her top score of 209 not out against England at Headingley in 2001, a world record at the time.^[1] She also scored 4,814 runs at 48.14 in Women's One Day Internationals.^[2] Rolton became the first player to score a century in the knockout stage of a Women's Cricket World Cup and set a record for the highest individual score on debut in Women's Twenty20 Internationals with 96 not out.^[10][11][12] In addition to her batting prowess, she enjoyed success as a left-arm medium-pace bowler, taking 102 international wickets across all three formats.^[2]

International centuries

Test centuries^[13]

No.	Runs	Opponents	City/Country	Venue	Year
1	176 not out	England	Worcester, England	New Road	1998[14]
2	209 not out	England	Leeds, England	Headingley	2001[15]

One Day International centuries^[16]

No.	Runs	Opponents	City/Country	Venue	Year
1	113 not out	New Zealand	Wellington, New Zealand	Basin Reserve	1997[17]
2	154 not out	Sri Lanka	Christchurch, New Zealand	Hagley Oval	2000[18]
3	107 not out	South Africa	Lincoln, New Zealand	Bert Sutcliffe Oval	2000[19]
4	105 not out	New Zealand	Lincoln, New Zealand	Bert Sutcliffe Oval	2002[20]
5	102 not out	New Zealand	Auckland, New Zealand	Eden Park Outer Oval	2004[21]
6	107 not out	India	Centurion, South Africa	Centurion Park	2005[22]
7	151	Ireland	Dublin, Ireland	Claremont Road Cricket Ground	2005[23]
8	101	India	Canberra, Australia	Manuka Oval	2008[24]

Retirement and post-career

In January 2010, Rolton announced her retirement from international cricket after a 14-year career.^[25] She continued to play domestic cricket for South Australia until the end of the 2010–11 Women's National Cricket League season.^[2]

In 2016, Rolton was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.^[26] In January 2018, she was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.^[27] A few months later, the South Australian Cricket Association unveiled a new community sporting facility in Adelaide, announcing the name of the main ground as Karen Rolton Oval.^[28][29]

Rolton currently lives in Victoria and remains involved with cricket through her coaching roles at the Melbourne Renegades and also at local level.^[30]

Honours

Team

• 2x Women's Cricket World Cup champion: 1997, 2005

Individual

• ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year: 2006
• Women's Cricket World Cup Player of the Tournament: 2005
• Women's Cricket World Cup Player of the Final: 2005
• 4x Belinda Clark Award winner: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006
• Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductee: 2021