A relocation to Tasmania full-time has been a key part of Lizelle Lee’s WBBL dominance, a move crowned by her Player of the Match performance in Saturday’s final
Lizelle Lee saved her best for last in Weber WBBL|11, unleashing the relentless onslaught of power hitting that has become her trademark upon the Perth Scorchers attack as she led the Hobart Hurricanes to their maiden title.
Her unbeaten 77 from 44 was the highest ever individual score in a WBBL Final, and speaking after the Hurricanes sealed an eight-wicket win, there were two things she was particularly delighted about.
The first, it goes without saying, was winning the WBBL.
The second, was batting through to the Power Surge.
The 33-year-old opener revealed had been frustrated that she had been unable to bat deep into innings throughout WBBL|11, unlike last season, where she hit back-to-back centuries.
“I’ve not been able to bat until The Surge a lot this whole season, so the whole chat about me was just following my processes and making sure I get into The Surge,” Lee said on Saturday night.
“(Winning the title) is amazing. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, it’s just been incredible.
“It’s been incredible to go out on this field of an amazing team and amazing support staff and just an amazing organisation.”
While she may have desired bigger scores, Lee has nonetheless been able to make smaller, more powerful contributions more often this season, and when backed up by in-form opening partner Danni Wyatt-Hodge and the Hurricanes’ deep batting line-up, played a crucial role in their journey to the top of the table.
Her 305 runs at an average of 38.12, striking at 154.82 with three half-centuries, was only slightly behind her average of 38.12 and SR of 155.85 in WBBL|10.
Lee’s last three seasons in purple have been the best of her Big Bash career – which saw her play for the Stars and Renegades before moving south – and it’s likely no coincidence those campaigns followed her decision to relocate to Tasmania full-time after her retirement from playing international cricket for South Africa.
“There’s been a lot of things that (Tasmania) have done for me personally behind the scenes, which I’m incredibly grateful for,” Lee told reporters on Saturday.
“But also just the way they make me feel, make my family feel, and it really does feel like a family, and I’m just incredibly proud and humbled and honestly grateful just to be a part of this organisation.”
Tasmania and Hobart Hurricanes captain Elyse Villani has had a first-hand view of Lee’s evolution since the South African retired from international cricket and moved permanently to Hobart with her wife Tanja in 2022.
She has watched Lee thrive in her new environment, and believes changes to her teammate’s mental approach have been the key to unlocking her devastating best with the bat more frequently.
“She’s just phenomenal … just being able to sit back and watch her dominate bowling attacks, and some of the shots that she hits – she’s the cleanest hitter I’ve ever come across,” Villani said of Lee.
“The resourcing that’s available around her … even though she’s an experienced cricketer, I guess the resources that she’s had and playing for South Africa, she probably hadn’t put the time into her game around that mental stuff and really focusing on her processes.
“That’s something that she herself says that she’s bought into a lot over the last two years and understood more.
“You can just see that she’s in control more – she’s always had the power, she’s always had great hand-eye (coordination), but I think that she’s making great decisions more often as well, and that allows her to put her power and her hand-eye on display for longer and absolutely dominate teams.
“I just thought she played remarkably well tonight.”
WBBL|11 finals schedule
The Knockout: Perth Scorchers beat Melbourne Stars by 28 runs
The Challenger: Perth Scorchers beat Sydney Sixers by 11 runs
The Final: Hobart Hurricanes beat Perth Scorchers by 8 wickets
