Boon awarded sporting honour
`Boon’s grit and determination at the crease were legendary… ‘
David Boon joined an illustrious list of fresh intakes into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame this week.
The former Launceston batsman attended a black tie ceremony in Melbourne with his wife Pip to celebrate the coming of age of the hall of fame.
Described as the highest profile intake of members in the organisation’s 21-year history, Boon joined Sydney Olympics gold medallist Cathy Freeman, Wimbledon tennis champion Pat Cash and basketballer Andrew Gaze in taking the number of full members to 337.
The hall of fame recognised Boon’s “distinguished” career with Tasmania and Australia in which he scored 7422 Test runs, including 21 hundreds, and became the fifth most capped Australian player.
As part of his induction it said: “Boon’s grit and determination at the crease were legendary, and he often delivered the runs when Australia needed them most.”
The 44-year-old was a member of the 1987 World Cup winning side, claiming man of the match honours in the final. From 181 one day internationals, he amassed 5964 runs including five centuries.
David Johnston, chief executive of Tasmanian Cricket Association, which recently awarded Boon life membership, said: “It’s a great honour, well deserved and a testament to his contribution to Australian sport and cricket in particular.”
Swimmer Grant Hackett took out the top prize at the hall of fame awards.
The triple World Championship gold medallist was awarded the prestigious Don Award as an inspiration to his nation and his peers.
An inaugural spirit of sport award went to Lee Freedman, Glen Boss and Tony and Christine Santic in honour of the achievements of triple Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.