NSW Breakers opening batter, Alex Blackwell, has been named captain for the upcoming 2010/11 season

Sports Shoot / Delly Carr

Opening batter Alex Blackwell has been named captain of the NSW Breakers for the 2010/11 summer, taking over from Lisa Sthalekar.

Alex Blackwell was the vice-captain of the Breakers for the last five seasons. She has been the vice-captain of the Australian team since 2008 and first captained the National side during the 2009 ICC Women’s World Cup in Sydney.

In May 2010, with regular skipper Jodie Fields out injured, she led Australia to victory at the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies.

The 26-year-old now takes charge of a Breakers squad with an abundance of young talent, including Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy, Sarah Coyte, Erin Osborne and Angela Reakes, all of whom are aged 21 or under.

“Alex is a wonderful role model and thoroughly deserves her elevation to the captaincy,” said Cricket NSW Chief Executive, David Gilbert.

“She follows in the footsteps of Belinda Clark, Julie Hayes and Lisa Sthalekar – three highly successful NSW captains since the inception of the Women’s National League in 1996. She led Australia to victory at the 2010 ICC Twenty20 World Cup and will be striving for success with the Breakers this summer.”

Gilbert added that the timing was right for Blackwell to take over the leadership with a number of younger players starting to emerge.

“At 26-years-old, we expect Alex to be at the helm for a number of years. With so many players in the squad now aged between 18 and 21, we saw this as the opportunity to build a side around Alex that can be successful for a long period of time.”

“Lisa Sthalekar will continue to be part of the Breakers squad in 2010/11. She has done an outstanding job in her five years as captain, delivering five titles, and she will remain an integral part of team’s campaign this summer,” he added.

Blackwell, who returned to training last week following an extended holiday after the World Cup, said she was excited to be given the opportunity to lead the Breakers.

“We have a great mix of senior and up-and-coming players in the squad this summer and I am looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together.

“This team has a wonderful history of success. We’ve won 12 National 50 over titles in 14 seasons, including the last five under the guidance of Lisa Sthalekar. There is a new challenge this summer with a greater emphasis on Twenty20 cricket and working closely with (Coach) Neil McDonald and the appointed vice-captain, I hope to lead the Breakers to their first ever Twenty20 title,” she said.

The format of the women’s domestic competition has been changed for this season with teams now playing two Twenty20 matches and one 50 over match each round. Tasmania has also been added to the 50 over competition after only playing Twenty20 matches last summer.