Brisbane Heat is one of the eight teams that will feature in the seventh edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). The WBBL starts from October 14. Brisbane Heat have a strong squad of 15, out of which three are overseas players, including the South African duo of Anneke Bosch and Nadine de Klerk and India’s ace leg spinner Poonam Yadav.
Squad: Anneke Bosch, Nadine de Klerk, Poonam Yadav, Zoe Cooke, Nicola Hancock, Grace Harris, Ellie Johnston, Jess Jonassen (captain), Laura Kimmince, Mikayla Hinkley, Charli Knott, Georgia Prestwidge, Georgia Redmayne, Courtney Sippel, Georgia Voll
Squad analysis
Anneke Bosch:
The South African all-rounder is a bundle of talent. The right hand bat and right arm speedster has played 14 international matches, including six T20Is. She has five T20I wickets and 92 runs, including one half century. She has a healthy strike rate of 112.19.
Nadine de Klerk:
This South African all-rounder is a regular member of the team. She is a right hand bat and a right arm seamer. She has played 23 T20Is and has scored 253 runs in 19 innings. With the ball, she has accounted for 19 wickets in 15 innings, including the best of 3-18.
Poonam Yadav:
The India’s ace leg spinner is one of the highest wicket-takers in women’s T20Is. The loopy leggie has scalped 98 wickets in 71 T20Is, including the best of 4-9. She has accounted for three four wicket-hauls so far.
Zoe Cooke:
She is a right arm quick, who plays her domestic cricket for Australian Capital Territory. Prior to signing up for Brisbane Heat, she was a part of the Melbourne Renegades’ squad.
Nicola Hancock:
She is an all-rounder, who is a right hand bat and right arm seamer. She plays her domestic cricket for Victoria. Prior to signing up for Brisbane Heat, she was a part of the Melbourne Renegades’ squad.
Grace Harris:
She is a right hand bat and right arm off spinner, who played for Australia between 2015 and 2016. She featured in 20 international fixtures, including 11 T20Is. She scored 120 runs and picked up six wickets. At present, she plays her domestic cricket for Queensland. Prior to signing up for Brisbane Heat, she was a part of the Melbourne Renegades’ squad.
Ellie Johnston:
She is an all-rounder, who is a right hand bat and right arm leg spinner. She plays her domestic cricket for Queensland.
Jess Jonassen:
She is one of the best spin bowlers of Australia. Having missed out for the India series, the left arm spinner will be looking to make the most of the upcoming WBBL season. She has been a regular member of the Australian team since 2012. She has represented Australia in 85 T20Is and has accounted for 74 wickets in 82 innings. She will be leading Brisbane Heat.
Laura Kimmince:
She is a top order bat and has tons of experience. She is a hard hitting batter. Last WBBL season, she had a stellar strike rate of 205.81. She plays her domestic cricket for Queensland. Recently, she also featured in the Hundred playing for Northern Superchargers.
Mikayla Hinkley:
She is a young right hand bat, who plays her domestic cricket for New South Wales. She can also bowl right arm seam. Prior to signing up for Brisbane Heat, she was a part of Sydney Thunder for two years, Perth Scorchers for one year and Hobart Hurricanes for one year. She is the first WBBL player to play for four different teams since the WBBL inception in 2015.
Charli Knott:
She is a right hand bat and right arm seamer. She plays her domestic cricket for Queensland. She is an upcoming batting all-rounder who signed her first contract with the Brisbane Heat in WBBL|04 while still in high school. Charli made her debut in WBBL|06 playing eight matches.
Georgia Prestwidge:
She is a right arm speedster, who represents Queensland at the domestic level. Coming from a family of talented cricketers, she had a breakthrough season in WBBL|04, taking 11 wickets including 2 crucial wickets in the final against Adelaide Strikers. She picked up from where she left and had a successful outing in WBBL|05 as she played a crucial role in the teams’ second consecutive championship win. Apart from her bowling, she is a terrific fielder.
Georgia Redmayne:
She was a part of the Australian squad during the recently concluded multi-format series against India. Though she didn’t get a game, there is no doubt about the ability of this top order wicket-keeper bat. The southpaw was also a part of the Welsh Fire team in the Hundred.
Courtney Sippel:
The left hand bat and right arm quick debuted for the Brisbane Heat in WBBL|05. She was a part of the squad in WBBL|04 but didn’t get a game. She has played eight matches in the WBBL so far and has picked up four wickets. She plays her domestic cricket for Queensland.
Georgia Voll:
The right hand bat and right arm off spinner made her domestic debut for Queensland in 2020 at just 16 years of age. She is a batting all-rounder, who was the player of the national Under-18 championships last summer, scoring 314 runs at an average of 34.9, including the best of 83. She scalped a dozen wickets too, including the best of 4-10. Playing for Sandgate-Redcliffe, she was also the third leading runs-scorer in the Katherine Raymont Shield, mustering 801 runs at an average of 47.12, including a couple of centuries.
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
