Grace Harris is recovering from a calf injury while Grace Parsons has been ruled out of WBBL|11 due to medical reasons
Brisbane Heat will be without Grace Harris as they start their WBBL|11 campaign against defending champions Melbourne Renegades at the Allan Border Field on Sunday.
The explosive allrounder missed out on her World Cup dream after injuring her calf while fielding in the last of the three ODIs against India in September ahead of the World Cup.
Harris was replaced in the Australian squad for the marquee tournament and flown back home for rehabilitation. In positive news, she is on track for a return to playing in the coming days.
Brisbane Heat squad v Renegades: Jess Jonassen (c), Lily Bassingthwaighte, Bonnie Berry, Lucy Bourke, Nadine de Klerk, Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Nicola Hancock, Chinelle Henry, Charli Knott, Annie O’Neil, Georgia Redmayne, Jemimah Rodrigues
The Heat have also been forced into a late change to their squad on the eve of the tournament as their young leg-spinner Grace Parsons has been ruled out for the season due to medical reasons.
Parsons’ latest professional appearance was for the Queensland Fire in the 2024-2025 WNCL final in March, where she took 3 for 29 in a commendable spell that came in a losing cause.
After finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the 2023-24 WNCL season, Parsons had made her WBBL debut last season. According to a Brisbane Heat statement, the 22-year-old has returned to bowling in the nets and is likely to resume playing early next year.
Parsons has been replaced in the Heat squad by Annie O’Neil after approval by the WBBL Technical Committee.
The former Adelaide Strikers and South Australia batter relocated to Queensland earlier this season and has already represented Heat in the T20 Spring Challenge.
The Heat confirmed that World Cup winner Jemimah Rodrigues will be available for selection on Sunday. Flying into Brisbane on Saturday evening after a whirlwind week of post-victory celebrations with the Indian team, the returning international will only have a few hours to gear up for action in teal.
South African Nadine de Klerk, who was a key member of the South African team that finished as the runner-up at the World Cup, has also been named by the Heat in the 13-member squad for the opener.
The Brisbane Heat’s endeavours to cross the line this season after losing back-to-back finals will be strengthened by the addition of West Indies allrounder Chinelle Henry, who has developed a reputation for her destructive power hitting.
Melbourne Renegades, the Heat’s opponent for what would be a rematch of last season’s Final, had announced on Friday that they will be without their regular skipper Sophie Molineux for the first two games, handling the allrounder’s workload conservatively due to her history of injuries.
Leg-spinning allrounder Georgia Wareham will the ‘Gades in her Australian teammate’s absence.
Talented young English batter Davina Perrin is contention for her first WBBL appearance, named in the Renegades squad for their trip to Brisbane, with Alice Capsey and Deandra Dottin being the other international names.
Melbourne Renegades squad v Heat: Georgia Wareham (c), Charis Bekker, Alice Capsey, Sarah Coyte, Emma de Broughe, Deandra Dottin, Nicole Faltum (WK), Tess Flintoff, Milly Illingworth, Sara Kennedy, Davina Perrin, Naomi Stalenberg, Courtney Webb
