Born on 31st August 1959 in North Fremantle, Western Australia, is former Test and ODI player for Australia, Karen Read.
A right-hand batter and right-arm medium pace bowler, Karen made her First Class and Limited Overs debut for Western Australia in the season of 1975/76. While she bowled in domestic cricket it was a rarity and it was with the bat that she made her name.
Karen made her debut for Australia in the ODI format when she was selected as part of the Australian squad to play in the 1981/82 World Cup played in New Zealand in Sharon Tredrea’s team. In the final against England, Karen scored 32 which helped Australia to victory and thus their second successful World Cup campaign.
Karen finished up playing in 20 ODI matches scoring 336 runs at 21.00 with a top score of 56 against New Zealand in Melbourne in February 1985.
The Australian tour of India in 1983/84 was where Karen made her Test debut. She played just two of the four Tests, at Delhi and Lucknow. She one more Test, the fifth of the Ashes series of 1984/85 at Bendigo where she was not out in the second innings as Australia claimed victory over England, winning the series 2-1. Karen retired from cricket in 1990/91 signing off on a career of 15 years at the top.