The ‘Cane train is humming nicely early in WBBL|11 as plans years in the making begin to come to fruition
The Hobart Hurricanes have made their hottest start to a WBBL season in a decade, but captain Elyse Villani is refusing to get carried away with the hype.
One week into WBBL|11, the Hurricanes are the tournament’s sole undefeated team, with three wins from has many matches, all coming on the road.
It is the club’s best start to a campaign since WBBL|01, where they won their opening five games, and seven of their first eight, in a season where they were ultimately knocked out in the semi-finals.
The Hurricanes will host their first game at Ninja Stadium on Tuesday night, with Villani eager to see her team carry on their momentum at home.
“It’s been a great start to win three, that’s an incredible achievement for our group,” Villani said on Monday.
“Just really happy with the vibes in the change room, on the field, off the field, everyone seems to be really happy, really enjoying each other’s company and that’s the vision.
“(But) we certainly know we’re expecting to lose games this season … that’s just T20 cricket, that’s probably going to happen at some stage.
“We’re not trying to shy away from that, but at the same time, we’re trying to set ourselves up so that we can be as consistent as possible in this format and give ourselves the best chance.
“And the messaging, the game plan, the clarity, it’s all very much similar, whether we’re at home or away.”
Tasmania have been a force in women’s domestic cricket in recent years, winning three of the last four Women’s National Cricket League titles.
But that same success has not translated to the Big Bash, where the Hurricanes have made the top four just twice since WBBL|02, and where they have never won a knockout game.
Salliann Beams, Cricket Tasmania’s general manager of high performance, said on Monday the club had been playing the long game when it came to building their WBBL list, and were pleased to see those plans starting to come to fruition.
One crucial aspect of that plan was the recruitment of former South Africa player Lizelle Lee, who moved to Australia following her international retirement three years ago and who is now qualified as a local player in the WBBL.
That created room in the Hurricanes’ list for a new international player this season and the club pounced on England captain Natalie Sciver-Brunt.
Adding that depth, alongside recruiting players from other clubs, has helped the club build a strong list despite having just one CA-contracted player – Heather Graham – in their ranks.
“I think that’s the difference of the team this year (the depth),” Beams said.
“It has been a long-term plan, because you’re trying to work out what environment you want to create, and then you’ve got to actually execute that, which takes energy and time.
“We took a gamble two years ago to not sign a multi-year (overseas) player, because we knew that there’d be more players (like Sciver-Brunt) available the following year.
“The likes of Lizzie Lee, we knew if we made a home for her here, she would eventually become a local player, which shifts the lens as well.
“To recruit an Aussie international player, it means that they will have to spend another month away from their home, and they don’t want to do that in the WBBL.
“So we tried to fix that by the Lizzie approach, so we get more local players of high international level … we’re passionate about producing Australian players as well, but there’s just been that void, and we’re right in the middle of it.”
While Beams acknowledged there was a long way to go in the season, she said the Hurricanes’ strong start would give them confidence heading into the business end.
“We like creating history here, and I see the female program always leading in that direction,” Beams said.
“What it does for us is just the level of confidence.
“There’s such great belief, great connection – we feel that whenever we go out and play anyone now that we’ve got clarity on our plans and we’ve got the strength and depth in our team to do it.
“But we can’t get complacent, that’s for sure. We’ve got our eyes on making sure we finish the competition well and we bring that trophy home.”
Weber WBBL|11 Standings
Team
Matches played
M
Wins
W
Losses
L
Ties
T
No results
N/R
Net Run Rate
NRR
Deductions
Ded.
Total points
PTS
1
HUR
3
3
0
0
0
1.036
0
6
2
REN
4
3
1
0
0
0.23
0
6
3
SIX
3
2
1
0
0
0.981
0
4
4
SCO
4
2
2
0
0
-0.745
0
4
5
STR
3
1
1
0
1
0.323
0
3
6
STA
3
1
1
0
1
0.092
0
3
7
THU
3
0
3
0
0
-0.787
0
0
8
HEA
3
0
3
0
0
-1.115
0
0
Legend
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
