Ahead of the upcoming WBBL, Brisbane Heat have secured South African all-rounder, Nadine de Klerk. It has to be noted that the player came into light after her amazing performance in semifinals of the recent T20 world cup.
20-year-old South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk is one of our own! 🇿🇦
👉https://t.co/OqtZRYEUH5#BringTheHeat #WBBL06 pic.twitter.com/UFY2FQ76h3
— Brisbane Heat (@HeatBBL) August 25, 2020
The opponents for Proteas in the match were, interestingly, the Aussies. This performance at Sydney Cricket Ground got her prominence. She got three wickets for her side in exchange for just 19 runs. The coach of Brisbane Heat said that her inclusion in the side is exciting and is expected to boost the skillset of the club.
Ashley Noffke said, “Anyone who saw Nadine charge in and bowl without fear against the best team in the world would have been impressed”.
He added that “She’s got very good skills and is certainly a player who likes to lead by example. We’re very confident she will complement the squad we are assembling, and it will be exciting for our fans to see her in action when we get underway”.
Sydney Thunders, on the other hand, have signed Anika Learoyd to a deal spanning for the duration of two years.
Congratulations to 18-year-old batter Anika Learoyd for scoring her first WBBL deal with the @ThunderBBL 👏
Full story: https://t.co/OLa2fR3zCY #WBBL06 pic.twitter.com/WaYInp2Voi
— Rebel Women’s Big Bash League (@WBBL) August 25, 2020
She bats right-handed and has amassed a total of 541 runs for her side in the 2019/20 edition of NSW Women’s Premier Cricket competition. She got the season off with an average of 54.
She said that “Getting a WBBL contract is a goal that I’ve been working towards for a couple of years now so it’s exciting to see that hard work paying off. It was a great experience to be invited along to a couple of Thunder training sessions last season and I’m really looking forward to being part of it this season”.
The coach of Sydney Thunder Trevor Griffin commented that the inclusion of the teenager is a natural progression. He said, “Anika has performed really well through Cricket NSW pathway programs and this is a great opportunity for her to step up and showcase her abilities on a bigger stage”.
WBBL will have its sixth edition played this year. A total of 59 games are slated for the tournament with dates stretching from October to November. The opening game will be played on the 17th of October with Thunders and Scorchers locking horns. The venue for the opening game will be Perth.
The success of the tournament will be a key factor for the future endeavors of women cricket and the chances of a healthy revival amidst the pandemic.
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