Western Australia pace bowler Piepa Cleary has announced her retirement from professional cricket, bringing the end to what has been an incredible career representing her home state.<\/p>\n
Cleary announced the news to WA players and coaches last week, telling her teammates last night\u2019s Women\u2019s National Cricket League (WNCL) game at the WACA Ground would be her last.<\/p>\n
And what a way to go out. Playing her first game in 694 days after two years of rehab from several knee injuries including an ACL, Cleary celebrated an eight-wicket victory over South Australia in front of family and friends. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Part of WA\u2019s maiden WNCL championship in 2019-20, Cleary has been a key figure for WA Cricket for over a decade, renowned for her competitiveness and crafty pace bowling.<\/p>\n
Since making her debut in 2012 as a 16-year-old, the right-arm quick went on to represent WA 75 times and claiming 72 wickets, placing her in the state\u2019s top five WNCL wicket-takers of all time. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cleary also represented Perth Scorchers in the Weber WBBL, taking 56 wickets in 81 matches since signing for the Club in the competition\u2019s inaugural season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was part of the Scorchers\u2019 WBBL|07 Championship team who took out their first title in front of their Members and fans at Optus Stadium during the 2021-2022 summer.<\/p>\n
Beyond the statistics, Cleary has been incredible leader off the ground, with her professionalism and leadership leaving a lasting impression which will be remembered for years to come.<\/p>\n
She has played an important mentoring role, more so than ever over the last two years, helping to guide the next generation of female cricketers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cleary was awarded the Female Rising Star 2013-2014 award, and for the last two seasons she has won the Legacy Award showcasing just how vital she has been to the program. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Reflecting on her storied career, Cleary said now felt like the right time to call time on cricket journey at a state level.<\/p>\n
\u201cCricket has given me more than I could have ever imagined over the last decade and a bit,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo represent Western Australia is something I will always be incredibly proud of. I\u2019ve been lucky to play alongside amazing teammates, learn from world-class coaches, and create memories that will stay with me forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cWA Cricket has been my home, and I\u2019m grateful for the support I\u2019ve had throughout my entire journey. I\u2019ll always be passionate about this game and look forward to staying connected in new ways, but I feel ready for the next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n
WA Cricket Head Coach Becky Grundy paid homage to the legacy Cleary has left behind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPiepa has been an outstanding servant of WA Cricket over 13 years, who has left an incredible legacy behind,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHer competitiveness, work ethic and resilience set her apart from the moment she came into the program, her resilience never more highlighted then over the last couple of years where she was dealt some injuries.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a fast bowler, she led from the front and was never afraid of hard work or responsibility. Just as importantly, she was a wonderful teammate who invested in those around her and helped drive a strong team culture which will leave a lasting impact for years to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thank Piepa for everything she has given and wish her nothing but success in what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Western Australia pace bowler Piepa Cleary has announced her retirement from professional cricket, bringing the end to what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411470,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[564],"tags":[64,63,740,85,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-411469","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cricket","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cricket","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-text"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}