3 minute read
A look at the eight sides contending for this year's WBBL title.
HOW THE WBBL CONTENDERS STACK UP:
ADELAIDE STRIKERS
2020-21 Result: Sixth
Key player: Tahlia McGrath. Fresh from a player-of-the-series performance against India during which she excelled with bat and ball.
Key recruit: Dane van Niekerk. South Africa's skipper, named player of the tournament after the inaugural edition of The Hundred, should be a handy late replacement for New Zealand captain Suzie Bates.
BRISBANE HEAT
2020-21 Result: Semi-finalists
Key player: Jess Jonassen. The spinning all-rounder, who missed the recent international series, will return from a leg injury while captaining Brisbane.
Key recruit: Poonam Yadav. The Indian legspinner memorably routed Australia at last year's T20 World Cup opener but will have a point to prove, having been largely overlooked in the recent multi-format series.
HOBART HURRICANES
2020-21 Result: Eighth
Key player: Rachel Priest. The New Zealand veteran, who was named the club's player-of-the-tournament a year ago after scoring 354 runs in her first season at the Hurricanes, has been handed the captaincy.
Key recruit: Molly Strano. The WBBL's all-time leading wicket-taker will be pivotal as her side seeks to make the most of a season-opening stretch at home.
MELBOURNE RENEGADES
2020-21 Result: Seventh
Key player: Jess Duffin. The former Australia batter, having skipped last year's Hub after the birth of her first child, is one of several inclusions that should bolster a batting order that struggled in 2020.
Key recruit: Harmanpreet Kaur. India's T20 captain became her nation's first cricketer to sign up for the WBBL back in 2016 and her potency is reflected in a match-winning knock of 171 not out against Australia at the most recent ODI World Cup.
MELBOURNE STARS
2020-21 Result: Runners-up
Key player: Annabel Sutherland. The young all-rounder is one of several players the Stars hope will help fill the void left by English fast bowler Katherine Brunt.
Key recruit: Kim Garth. The Irish ace relocated to Australia last year, essentially sacrificing her international career to take up a professional contract with Cricket Victoria and should offer plenty with ball and bat.
PERTH SCORCHERS
2020-21 Result: : Semi-finalists
Key player: Beth Mooney. The world's top-ranked T20 batter topped last year's WBBL run-scoring charts, one of several accomplishments in a stretch of dominance that shows no sign of stopping.
Key recruit: Chamari Athapaththu. Sri Lanka's skipper, who has crashed two centuries in Australia, will form part of a remarkably potent top order alongside Mooney and Sophie Devine.
SYDNEY SIXERS
2020-21 Result: Fifth
Key player: Ellyse Perry. The star all-rounder is likely to shuffle down the batting order but play a key role with the ball, especially following the departure of Marizanne Kapp.
Key recruit: Shafali Verma. The prodigy bettered Sachin Tendulkar's mark to become the youngest Indian to score a half-century in international cricket and hasn't looked back since.
SYDNEY THUNDER
2020-21 Result: Champions
Key player: Smriti Mandhana. Celebrated a recent Test century against Australia and looms as a key part of the Thunder's title defence, especially given the absence of gun batters Rachael Haynes and Heather Knight.
Key recruit: Issy Wong. The English teenager with pace to burn was recruited as a last-minute replacement for South African spearhead Shabnim Ismail, player of the match in last year's final.
