The Hobart Hurricanes had a decent season last time around, finishing in fourth place in the points table at the end of the league stages with 15 points from 14 games, including seven victories. They had an encouraging start to their campaign with a victory against Sydney Thunder.
The Hobart Hurricanes went on a roll with a hattrick of wins against the Melbourne Renegades, Adelaide Strikers, and the Brisbane Heat towards the beginning of the second half of the season. However, they failed to build on the momentum as they ended their league stages with a couple of back-to-back defeats against the Adelaide Strikers and the Sydney Sixers. As a result, they were unable to seal their place in the top two.
The upcoming 9th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League is all set to get underway on 19th October 2023. The player selection process from the inaugural overseas players draft concluded on 3rd September 2023 in Melbourne. Hobart Hurricanes picked up the South African speedster Shabnim Ismail and Bryony Smith the emerging batter from England in the draft. They signed up the South African veteran Lizelle Lee via direct nominations to complete their three overseas trio ahead of the upcoming edition.
Apart from their overseas signings, they have also signed some exciting local talented players. Julia Cavanough and Tabatha Saville are the latest entrants into the Hurricanes squad. Julia Cavanough was drafted into the squad last year, in the eighth edition of the WBBL. She plays for Tasmania in the Women’s National Cricket League. She played 10 games last season and picked up 6 wickets. The left-arm pacer troubled the opposition batters with her ability to swing the ball.
“Julia (Cavanough) will be looking to impress throughout this season, and her left-arm bowling will bolster our bowling line-up in the 2023-24 WBBL season.” The General Manager of High-Performance, Salliann Beams is looking forward to watching the young left-arm pacer in action in the upcoming edition of the WBBL.
The 25-year-old batter Tabatha Saville made her Women’s Big Bash League debut for the Adelaide Strikers on 2nd June in the year 2017. She has played 29 matches so far and scored 171 runs at a strike rate of 81.81 in 22 innings. Her best performance with the bat for the Adelaide Strikers came on 29th December 2017, when she scored an unbeaten 31 runs, scoring at a strike rate of 91.17 against the Brisbane Heat in Adelaide.
“Saville’s batting will provide our squad with another option in the middle to lower order of the team. Her power will add an element to the strong squad we have in place.” The General Manager of High-Performance, Salliann Beams speaks about the balance she brings into the squad and her ability to strike the ball cleanly can make her a valuable asset to the franchise going forward.
Hobart Hurricanes squad for the upcoming edition of the WBBL:
Nicola Carey, Maisy Gibson, Heather Graham, Shabnim Ismail, Ruth Johnston, Lizelle Lee, Emma Manix-Geeves, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Amy Smith, Bryony Smith, Naomi Stalenberg, Molly Strano, Elyse Villani, Julia Cavanough, Tabatha Saville
(Quotes sourced from Hobart Hurricanes Press Release)