Blackwell will continue to play for the Sydney Thunder in the Women's Big Bash League. 

Blackwell is Australia’s most capped female player.

She played her first game for Australia in 2003, which was a One-Day International against England.

Blackwell went on to play 251 matches across all three formats for her country.

She compiled 5250 runs batting in the middle order for Australia, becoming just the fourth Australian to pass 5000 runs in a career.

Appointed vice-captain of the national side in 2008, she first captained Australia during the 2009 ICC Women’s World Cup in Sydney than in May 2010, with regular skipper Jodie Fields out injured, she led Australia to victory at the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies. 

“Alex has been a wonderful servant to Australian Cricket, and a tremendous leader both at national and international level, and we congratulate her on an outstanding career that has spanned more than 16 years," Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland said.

“She was a talented cricketer - a fierce competitor, hard-working and far more often than not, a winner - Alex played an instrumental role in the dominance of both the Australian and New South Wales teams over the last decade.

“There’s no doubt Alex will be missed but she should be incredibly proud of what she has achieved and the way she has competed on all stages, and we wish her all the best for the future ahead,” he said. 

Blackwell played a total of 138 50-over matches and 68 T20’s for her native New South Wales, scoring 4764 and 1956 runs at an average of 47.17 and 54.33 respectively.

She spent five years as vice-captain of New South Wales before being appointed captain in the 2010-11 season.