Moves That Could Shape the WBBL
Which teams have gained and lost the most ahead of WBBL|10?
IMAGE: cricket.com.au
The tenth season of the Women’s Big Bash League kicks off on Sunday with a triple header, starting with a rematch of last year’s final between the Adelaide Strikers and the Brisbane Heat at the Adelaide Oval.
The Strikers-Heat game will be followed by the Melbourne Renegades taking on the Sydney Sixers (also at the Adelaide Oval) before the Perth Scorchers host the Melbourne Stars at the WACA in the last match of the day. The Sydney Thunder will travel to Tasmania to play the Hobart Hurricanes at Bellerive the following night.
The eight WBBL teams have been busy in the off-season finalising their 15-strong playing lists, with each side allowed up to three international “marquee” players. The full playing squads (as of earlier this week) can be found here.
I was interested to see how teams have faired with respect to player movement ahead of WBBL|10, particularly with respect to how much experience (as measured by runs scored and wickets taken) each team has gained and lost compared to the previous season.
The Heat and Renegades have been hit the hardest from a run-scoring perspective, with the women in teal farewelling Mignon du Preez (2454 runs), Georgia Voll (903), and Amelia Kerr (842). Similarly, the Renegades saw Harmanpreet Kaur, Jess Duffin, and Tammy Beaumont depart – all of whom with more than 1000 WBBL runs to their name.
The Hurricanes were the big winners, boosting their batting stocks with proven run-scorers in Suzie Bates (1678 runs) and Danni Wyatt-Hodge (1258), who played for the Sixers and the Scorchers (respectively) last season. However, the pair will not be available for selection at the same time, with Bates set to join the squad towards the later stages of the season after Wyatt-Hodge flies out to be part of England’s tour of South Africa.
The Strikers, who are aiming to become the first WBBL team to win three titles, were the only other team to gain more batting experience than they lost, thanks to the return of Smriti Mandhana (774 runs), who last played in Australia in WBBL|07.
The Stars had the biggest boost to their wicket-taking credentials, recruiting Marizanne Kapp (103 wickets, including 10 for the Thunder in WBBL|09) and Maisy Gibson (53 wickets, eight for the Hurricanes in WBBL|09) to join last season’s leading wicket-taker Sophie Day (27 in 14 matches at an average of 12.5).
Conversely, the Heat’s bowling stocks also took a hit, losing the experience of Amelia Kerr (61 wickets) and Courtney Sippel (44 wickets) to the Sydney Sixers. The Sixers have also added young leg spinner Isabella Malgioglio, who claimed two wickets in four games during the Spring Challenge.
The timeframe of this stat is limited based on what data are freely/easily available and/or accessible. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you spot any errors in what I have presented.