Claire Polosak, Eloise Sheridan make history in Australia
For Polosak, a member of Cricket Australia's Supplementary Umpire Panel, this is not the first time she is part of a historic milestone – in 2017, she had become the first on-field female umpire to officiate a men's domestic game in Australia.
In the recently-concluded ICC Women's World T20, she stood in the semi-final clash between India and England.
A historic day for the WBBL!
— Weber Women's Big Bash League (@WBBL) December 23, 2018
Today, Claire Polosak and Eloise Sheridan will walk to the Adelaide Oval, representing the first time Australia has seen two female on-field umpires.
We couldn't be prouder! 👏 pic.twitter.com/44AuAIOFOi
Meanwhile, Sheridan is the first female to be appointed to the South Australian State Umpire Panel, having taken up the career in umpiring drawing curtains on her playing career.
"Claire and Eloise have established themselves as two of Australia’s leading female umpires and it’s fantastic to see all their hard work continue to pay off," Kevin Roberts, the Cricket Australia CEO had said before the game.
Umpires Claire Polosak and Eloise Sheridan made history today, becoming the first all-female umpiring team to officiate a professional 🏏 match in Australia 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/VArqXgWwJq
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) December 23, 2018
"This is another great step forward for cricket, where we’re continuing to strive towards our aspiration of being Australia’s leading sport for women and girls."
Sophie Devine, the Adelaide Strikers all-rounder from New Zealand, made the occasion more memorable, scoring a blazing 60-ball 95 before taking 5/41. Her combination of half-century and five-for registered the first such instance in the WBBL, and powered her side to a big win.