All WBBL clubs had announced their pre-signed players by the day before the draft, with the Cane Train the only exception. But with the Draft Day approaching, they made the headline signing of the WBBL pre-season by drafting the English captain Natalie Sciver-Brunt.
The superstar allrounder was revealed as the club’s pre-signed international just moments before today’s Big Bash draft broadcast, marking a major coup for the Hurricanes in their quest for a first-ever WBBL title.
Sciver-Brunt, while talking to her new club, said, “I am super excited to be joining the Hobart Hurricanes. I look forward to joining the group at the start of WBBL-11 and helping bring the Hurricanes their first piece of WBBL silverware.”
The Hurricanes gained an extra overseas player slot after former South African Lizelle Lee was eligible to play as a local in the upcoming season. The former ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year originally signed a two-year deal as Hobart’s pre-draft overseas player for WBBL-10 but has since secured Australian permanent residency.
In her 75 WBBL appearances with Stars and Scorchers, Sciver-Brunt has amassed 1,413 runs and claimed 59 wickets. Apart from that, she would like to continue her red-hot form from the WPL, where she won the orange cap, scoring 523 runs from 10 games and also taking 12 wickets, playing a big hand in Mumbai clinching their 2nd WPL title.
Cricket Tasmania’s High Performance General Manager, Salliann Beams, in a statement said, “I am delighted to have the captain of the England cricket team, and arguably the best overseas talent available, on our list for WBBL 11.” She further added, “Nat is one of the most damaging T20 batters in the game and has a wealth of experience that will shore up our list with her top-order batting and challenging medium-pace bowling.”
By joining the likes of captain Elyse Villani, hard-hitting opener Lizelle Lee, all-rounder Heather Graham, and other teammates, Natalie Sciver-Brunt will like to replicate her WPL success and look to help the Hurricanes secure their first-ever WBBL title.
