Opinion
After winning back-to-back titles, the Brisbane Heat reached the WBBL06 semi-finals.
Experienced seam bowler Delissa Kimmince has retired, New Zealand stars Amelia Kerr and Maddy Green also will not return and young bowler Lilly Mills has joined the Perth Scorchers.
Captain Jess Jonassen has played in all 89 games for the Brisbane Heat. With her left-arm orthodox bowling she has taken 92 wickets, the second-most in WBBL history. Jonassen has also scored 1609 runs, which is 13th for WBBL’s all-time leading run scorer. Jonassen brings a bucket load of experience to the team, having played 85 international T20s (74 wickets and 428 runs) and 74 ODIs (113 wickets and 550 runs).
To replace Beth Mooney behind the stumps in WBBL06 the Heat called for the doctor – Dr Georgia Redmayne. Redmayne didn’t let the Heat down, scoring 357 runs with three 50s. Redmayne has previously played for the Hobart Hurricanes and the Perth Scorchers and has scored 1291 runs and has over 50 dismissals.
South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk returns for the Heat. In the T20 World Cup semi-final last year against Australia she took 3-19. De Klerk is another multi-talented sportsperson, having competed at the national level in South Africa as a javelin thrower. She has taken 19 wickets and scored 253 runs in 23 international T20s and taken 13 wickets and scored 107 runs in 14 ODIs.
Jess Jonassen (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
De Klerk’s South African teammate Anneke Bosch joins the Heat for the first time in WBBL07. Bosch is a right-hand bat and right-arm medium pacer. She received a player of the match award for scoring 58 in an ODI against India earlier this year. Her highest score in an international T20, also against India, is 66 not out.
How good is it to see so many of the Indian players stay on for WBBL07? The Heat have signed leg spinner Poonam Yadav. Yadav took 4-19 in the first game of last year’s T20 World Cup against Australia. She’s taken 98 wickets in 71 international T20s and 76 wickets in 54 ODIs.
Sisters Grace Harris and Laura Kimmince have been long-term contributors with the Heat, although Harris did have a short stint with the Melbourne Renegades. She’s in the top 20 WBBL scorers and top 20 WBBL wicket-takers, with 1359 runs and 57 wickets. Harris also provides great entertainment to WBBL viewers when she is on the player microphone in the field. Kimmince has scored 643 runs at a strike rate of 144.82, with a highest score of 41.
Fast-medium bowler Nicola Hancock is an important cog in the Heat’s bowling line-up. Having previously played for the Melbourne Renegades, Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Stars, she’s taken 40 wickets in 62 WBBL matches.
Georgia Prestwidge has taken 18 wickets in 38 WBBL matches. Mikayla Hinkley, who has had stints with the Sydney Thunder, Perth Scorchers and Hobart Hurricanes, has played 36 matches with a highest score of 45 not out.
Charli Knott, just 18 years old, played eight matches during WBBL06, and 20-year-old Courtney Sippel has also played eight WBBL matches. Another teenager, Georgia Voll, has scored 153 runs in 11 matches. All-rounder Zoe Cooke has been signed after impressive performances for the ACT Meteors in the WNCL.
The Heat has also signed 18-year-old Ellie Johnston, who hails from Ipswich. Johnston made her debut for Queensland Fire in the WNCL last season.
With a number of quality players who have spent a number of seasons with the Heat, such as Jonassen, Harris and Kimmince, along with the recruitment of Yadav and Bosch, expect to see the Heat in contention for the finals again.
Predicted finish: 4th
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