Australian cricketing legend Belinda Clark has hailed the rise of women's cricket as the most remarkable growth in world sport.
Prolific batter Clark enjoyed a magnificent international career from 1991 to 2005 and is widely considered Australia's finest female cricketer.
Clark's career ended just as Twenty20 started, with her final international appearance coming in Australia's first women's game in that format.
Now Cricket Australia's head of junior cricket, Clark has witnessed the women's game make major strides since her retirement.
In the last couple of months alone,a well attended and viewed Ashes series has been followed by more good crowds and television ratings for last weekend's record breaking opening round of the WBBL.
"That growth in the female section has been probably the most remarkable growth in world sport really," Clark told AAP on Monday.
"If you think about where we were 20 years ago, to today, it's remarkably different.
"I think that transformation has been probably at the front of world sport, if you consider both domestic and international cricket changing so much in that time."
One day games were the main format of women's cricket during Clark's career.
She played 115 ODI's, 15 Tests and just the one T20, but has no qualms about the shortest format now being the major promotional vehicle for the women's game.
"I think the rationale for that is it's an attractive form of the game for people to watch both on television and attending," Clark said.
"I think we're now seeing the benefits of that move and it's terrific to see so many people turn up and watch the games on the weekend, but also the television audiences were amazing."
There was no domestic T20 cricket played in Australia during Clark's career, so her international swan song against England at Taunton was her only taste of the format.
"It would have been a fun format to have played more of, but it wasn't to be," Clark said.
She was excited at the prospect of Australia hosting separate mens and women's World T20 tournaments in 2020.
"I think what we're going to see is an amazing spectacle," she said.
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