CS Team of the Century | Shepparton cricket legend Raelee Thompson reflects on trailblazing career

Hailing from humble beginnings in the Shepparton region, Thompson blossomed into one of the greatest female cricketers Australia has seen, representing her country in 16 Test matches and 23 one-day internationals from 1972 to 1985.

But arguably it was her work off the field that had more of a lasting impact, being at the forefront of the meteoric rise of women’s cricket in Australia in the past two decades.

Having such a great influence on the game, her list of accolades is a mile long, with places in the Australian Cricket and Greater Shepparton Sports Hall of Fame just the tip of the iceberg.

Now being recognised as the only female in the Cricket Shepparton Team of the Century shortlist, Thompson said it was an honour to see her feats celebrated with a number of the other greats of the region.

“It is a thrill to be honoured with something like this,” Thompson said.

“Receiving things like this, it is always very humbling and it is fantastic to be included with so many great players and be seen as one the most influential cricketers from our region.

“I have always loved my home town and I love coming back to receive awards like this, after all these years I thought they would have forgotten about me.”

For Thompson, it wasn’t until Form 4 at Shepparton High School that she discovered the game that would end up shaping her life.

She described how the game was thrust upon her and some of the early battles associated with being able to play.

“The start of the journey was at Shepp High, my sports mistress when I was in Form 4 she changed the sport we had to play from vigoro to cricket and that is where I started playing,” Thompson said.

“When I left school I was lost to cricket for about 18 months while I was working at the Mooroopna Base Hospital because there was no teams for girls in Shepparton at the time.

“But when I furthered my career and came to Melbourne to work in the Fairfield Hospital I was able to play with Collingwood Cricket Club and it all began from there.”

Playing club cricket for the first time at the age of 21, Thompson was something of a late bloomer, immediately having an impact in the metropolitan competition with her ability to take wickets as an opening bowler.

While at Collingwood she would also get the opportunity to play alongside national level cricketers and be mentored by state selectors, which ended up forging her pathway to higher honours.

“I was very lucky when I first came to Melbourne that I played in a team with Australian players and you learn a lot from them,” she said.

“And then also at the time we had a Victorian selector as our coach, so she saw me week in and week out and thought I had potential.

“So I was selected in the second XI pretty quickly in about 1968-69 before I eventually played my first game for Victoria in 1970-71 — I then managed to take a few wickets and from there my career took off.”

But making it to state level wasn’t enough for the ambitious Thompson.

Continuing to improve with every passing game, she was quick to get on the radar of national selectors and was eventually handed her Australian debut in a Test match against New Zealand in Melbourne on February 5, 1972.

“It wasn’t a really good memory for me playing-wise because I just took the one wicket for the whole match and we got beaten,” Thompson said of her debut Test.

“But to represent Australia was a fantastic experience, there is no feeling like walking out onto the field and representing your country, I just loved every minute of it.”

Similarly to her domestic career, Thompson had an immediate impact at international level and became a key fixture in the Australian side for 13 years — taking 57 Test wickets and 24 in one-day internationals.

But the highlight of her career in the national side came in her final series, where she assumed the captaincy and took 5-30 in the last Test to help secure a 2-1 victory for Australia.

“It (the captaincy) was thrust open me because I was the vice-captain and the captain got injured, so I had to take over — to be honest I didn’t want to captain,” she said.

“But I did it and in an epic five Test series we beat England 2-1, which made for a great ending to my career.”

Following her international career Thompson returned to club cricket for a further decade, while also serving as an Australian selector and delegate to the cricket council.

This is where she would become a major advocate for the growth of women’s cricket in the game, taking a key role in coaching the girls that would become the stars of the modern game.

Now a keen follower of women’s cricket, Thompson said she was filled with joy watching how far it had come.

“I think it is great how far the game has come and it makes me a proud to be an Australian,” she said.

“I love watching the girls play, travelling around the country and the world to support them, I just absolutely love being part of it.

“Cricket is such a great game, they were the best years of my life being a cricketer, some of the places you go and the people you meet, they are memories that last forever.”