Former coach Shelly Nitschke holds the record with four consecutive wins (2009–2012), while Karen Rolton and Lisa Sthalekar have also achieved consecutive victories.
Sutherland narrowly edged out Beth Mooney, receiving 77 votes to Mooney’s 74, with Alana King a distant third on 56 votes.
The award considered performances during the Women’s ODI World Cup and Australia’s white-ball series against New Zealand (three T20Is) and India (three ODIs) leading up to the World Cup. Sutherland showcased all-round brilliance, taking 27 wickets at an average of 15.63 and scoring 250 runs at an average of 41.66 across formats.
“It was definitely a surprise, but it’s a huge honour and I’m very grateful to win the Belinda Clark Award—an award named after a legend of the game,” Sutherland said. “To know that I have contributed across the last couple of years is always the goal. I want to consistently contribute to this team and team success first and foremost. We are now looking forward to the upcoming series against India, starting with the first T20 International tonight.”
In addition, Sutherland won the 2026 ODI Player of the Year award, while Mooney claimed the T20 Player of the Year honour, having scored 166 runs at an average of 83 in the three-match series against New Zealand. Leg-spinner King, who finished third in the voting, took 13 wickets during the ODI World Cup.
Meanwhile, former Australia captain Alex Blackwell was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame on Sunday, February 15. Blackwell represented Australia in 12 Tests, 144 ODIs, and 95 T20Is between 2003 and 2018. She captained Australia to their maiden T20 World Cup title in 2010 and was part of the ODI World Cup-winning squads in 2005 and 2013.
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