Piepa May Cleary (born 17 July 1996) is an Australian cricketer who took 12 wickets in 14 games during the 2013–14 WNCL season after debuting in December 2012.

Piepa Cleary
Cleary fielding for Perth Scorchers in January 2017
Cleary fielding for Perth Scorchers in January 2017
Personal information
Full name
Piepa May Cleary
Born (1996-07-17) 17 July 1996 (age 28)
Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium-fast
RoleBowler
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2012/13–presentWestern Australia
2015/16–presentPerth Scorchers
2021Lancashire
2021North West Thunder
2021Welsh Fire
2022Lightning
2023–presentLeicestershire
2023Western Storm
Career statistics
Competition WLA WT20
Matches 75 109
Runs scored 610 309
Batting average 15.93 9.68
100s/50s 0/0 0/1
Top score 42* 79
Balls bowled 2,758 2,141
Wickets 59 91
Bowling average 40.68 26.24
5 wickets in innings 0 0
10 wickets in match 0 0
Best bowling 4/49 3/16
Catches/stumpings 16/– 26/–
Source: CricketArchive, 23 March 2022

The right-arm bowler was selected in the 2011 Australian under-18 Talent Camp as a 15-year old after taking eight wickets at the 2010-11 under-18 National Championships. As a teenager, Cleary was also part of Australia's under-19 girls team at the 2011 Indoor Cricket Juniors World Series, before captaining the under-16s to glory in 2012. The South Perth product picked up 12 wickets during that tournament.

She travelled to Dubai with the Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars to play an England Academy team in April 2015 and has signed with the Perth Scorchers in the WBBL.[1]

She is part of the current Shooting Stars squad, and was selected in the Cricket Australia Governor-General's XI to face South Africa. The opening bowler played in every WNCL match for Western Australia in the 2016–2017 season in the lead up to season two of the WBBL.[2]

Cleary bowling for Western Australia in September 2022
Cleary bowling for Western Australia in September 2022

In February 2016 Cleary was suspended for six months under Cricket Australia's Anti-Corruption Code for placing bets on cricket matches totalling $15.50.[3]

Cleary was named in Australia's extended squad for the 2017 ICC Womens World Cup.[4]

In August 2017 Cleary and another seven other promising young cricket players were named in the Inaugural Women's National Performance squad. The squad trained at the world-class NCC facility and alongside the Australian contracted squad at a pre-Ashes camp.[5]

In November 2018, she was named in the Perth Scorchers' squad for the 2018–19 Women's Big Bash League season.[6][7] In 2021, she was drafted by Welsh Fire for the inaugural season of The Hundred.[8] She played for them in 8 games and picked up 6 wickets.[9]

In April 2021, it was announced that Cleary had joined Lancashire and North West Thunder for the 2021 season.[10] For some years, Cleary had been in a long-distance relationship with Amy Jones, her former Perth Scorchers teammate, who bats and keeps wicket for England. She and Jones are now both based in Loughborough, Leicestershire. Cleary had also wanted to take a break from playing for Western Australia.[11] However, she returned to play for Western Australia in the 2021–22 Women's National Cricket League.[12] She joined Leicestershire for the 2023 East of England Women's County Championship, becoming the side's first ever overseas player.[13] In July 2023, she signed for Western Storm for three Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy matches.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Piepa Cleary | Stats, Bio, Facts and Career Info".
  2. ^ "Piepa Cleary | Perth Scorchers - BBL".
  3. ^ "WA teen cricketer banned for anti-corruption breach". Cricket Australia. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Cleary Named in Extended World Cup Squad".
  5. ^ "Inaugural Women's NPS named".
  6. ^ "WBBL04: All you need to know guide". Cricket Australia. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  7. ^ "The full squads for the WBBL". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  8. ^ "The Hundred 2021 - full squad lists". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  9. ^ "The Hundred Women's Competition, 2021 - Welsh Fire (Women) Cricket Team Records & Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Lancashire set for Vitality Women's County T20". Lancashire Cricket. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  11. ^ Jolly, Laura (25 June 2021). "Cleary follows her heart in search of a fresh start". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Batting and Fielding for Western Australia Women/Women's National Cricket League 2021/22". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Piepa Cleary Signs for Leicestershire Women". Leicestershire County Cricket Club. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Storm Sign Piepa Cleary". Western Storm. 2 July 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.

Further reading

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  Media related to Piepa Cleary at Wikimedia Commons