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Brittany Carter

Women's Ashes top 20: Karen Rolton's 209* at Headingley

Karen Rolton made history with her stunning knock againt the English team.

Karen Rolton is one of just seven female cricketers and four Australian women to have made a double ton in Test cricket.

A feat that is incredibly hard to come by.

Yet the powerful batter says she only achieved the milestone because she simply "hated sitting on the sidelines".

It was July 2001, when the left-hander made 209 not out against England at Headlingley to break the women's world record Test score.

Her 313-ball effort led Australia to a nine-wicket win, sealing an Ashes series victory on foreign soil.

It would be the last time for 14 years that Australia would win the Ashes in England, marking a pivotal moment in the history of the contest.

It was also an important achievement in the context of Rolton's career, whose other highlights include scoring a match-winning century in the 2005 World Cup Final and captaining the team from 2006 to 2009 after Belinda Clark retired.

Karen Rolton (middle, left) and her teammates hang behind then-captain Belinda Clark after winning the Women's World Cup in 2005. (Reuters: Stringer)

Now, 21 years on and reflecting on that Test at Headingley, Rolton is a little foggy on some of the details. It's a crying shame that she can't even watch it back to jog her memory, with no known footage recorded.

"It was a men's ground, so it was a really nice place to play, and I felt really lucky to be part of a great Australian team that were competitive," she said.

"I guess as a player and as vice-captain at the time, I was more focused on the team and the result."

Karen Rolton played a signficant role in the history of women's cricket at an international level and for her home state of South Australia. (Supplied: SACA)

There were two defining moments in the lead up to Rolton's greatest moment.

The explosive batter had almost made it 200 once before, coming close while playing in the 1998 Ashes series at the County Ground, New Road in Worcester.

Three years later, Rolton finally reached the milestone in 2001, but it took a cheap wicket and a teammate's 200 earlier in the series to get her there. 

The 1998 Ashes series – a declaration holds Rolton back

In the build up to the third and final Test at Worcester, Australia had clean swept England in a five-match ODI series. The Test series, however, was nil-all, with neither side able to force a result in Guildford or Harrogate.

After dismissing England all-out for 243, Australia started their batting innings with solid partnerships on day two, the first between Clark and Lisa Keightley (127 runs) and the second between Clark and Rolton (174 runs).

By stumps that same day, Clark had recorded her second Test century and what would be her highest score in the format (136), while Rolton was just three runs shy of her first Test century with Australia at 1/279.

Karen Rolton was known for her power hitting during her career playing cricket for the Australian women's team. (Getty Images)

Unfortunately, day three had to be abandoned due to rain, but the delay in play didn't stop Rolton's momentum, who, by all reports, was creaming them from the get-go on day four.

Eager to score quickly, Rolton added 22 more runs to Australia's tally to bring up her century and take the team past 300, before Clark departed without making a single run that day.

Next in was Mel Jones (11) and Bronwyn Calver (28), but they too were mainly left watching at the non-striker's end, as Rolton carved it up to power her way to 176 not out with a total of 21 fours.

At this point, although Rolton was nearing a double ton, the decision was made to declare with Australia leading by 184 runs at 4/427, as the tourists tried to force a result with two innings still left to squeeze into the rest of the final day.

"At the end of the day, the team result is most important, but she would have made it to 200 with a couple more overs she was seeing them that well."

Rolton also bowled during her career before injury limited to her opportunities with the ball. (Getty Images)

In reply, England held on to make it to 6/190 for a draw, with neither side winning the Ashes and Australia retaining the title for a third series in a row.

Looking back, Rolton says the declaration didn't bother her, but coming close to 200 did make her realise she had the ability to get there one day... if time and form allowed for it.

"In the whole 14 to 15 years I played for Australia, I only played 14 Tests, so that was my motivation, to make sure I got the most out of the experience."

The 2001 Ashes series – the making of a double-ton legend

By the time it came to tour England again, Australia had played a lot of white-ball cricket but hadn't had any experience with the Test format during those three years.

Rolton had carried on with her power hitting, notching seven 50s, one 100 and a 150 in various ODIs over that period.

But the exciting chance to play Test cricket was once again looming and Rolton was hopeful the side could force a result to win the Ashes outright this time around.

Disappointment struck early though, when, in the first Test at Shenley, Clark went early for 9 and Rolton followed with a two-ball duck that left Australia in a vulnerable position at 2/21.

Lucky a bright young debutant, Michelle Goszko, was there to save the day, tallying 204 runs off 345 balls to become the only women's Test player in history to make 200 on debut. That record still stands.

Michelle Goszko on her way to making 204 during the women's Test match between England and Australia at Shenley Park in June 2001. (Getty: Shaun Botterill/ALLSPORT)

Goszko's efforts saw Australia clinch the match by an innings and 140 runs, and had also lit a fire in Rolton's belly.

Stuck on the sidelines watching Goszko shine was all the motivation she needed to make it there herself in the very next Test, finishing not out on 209 as Australia declared at 4/383.

It was the highest individual score any female cricketer had made in Test cricket at the time, and helped put Australia in an unassailable position, winning the Test match by nine wickets and the series 2-0.

In a funny twist, there was also a bit of role reversal between the two double-centurions on that 2001 tour, with Goszko out for a seven-ball duck in Rolton's glory moment.

"Every time I played the game, I just wanted to contribute, so I was mighty disappointed after that first Test," Rolton said.

"I was just happy to be able to redeem myself a little bit in that second Test and I really didn't go out there looking to break the record, I was just trying to put the team in the best possible position."

Ellyse Perry celebrates after scoring a double century on day three of the Women's Ashes Test at North Sydney Oval in 2017. (AAP: Daniel Munoz)

Rolton's record Test score stood for 16 years in Australia, before one of the modern greats, Ellyse Perry, eclipsed it with a brilliant knock of 213 not out at North Sydney during the 2017 women's Ashes.

Rolton's efforts in the game as a pioneer for women's cricket have also been recognised over the years, with her induction into the ICC Hall of Fame and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

The former Australian captain is also the only female player in the country with a major cricket stadium named in her honour, overseeing plenty of men's and women's domestic cricket at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide.

You can vote for Karen Rolton's double century in our Top 20 women's Ashes moments right here.
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