Photo Credit: Sydney Thunder
Taneale Peschel will be in Sydney Thunder colours for the next two Weber WBBL seasons after the swing bowler opted to swap her home of Western Australia for opportunities in Western Sydney.
Peschel, who has taken 50 wickets from 73 matches for the Perth Scorchers since her debut in WBBL|03, is able to bowl in any part of an innings and brings valuable experience to the young Thunder squad.
A major part of Peschel’s decision to move east was the chance to reunite with her former Western Australian and Scorchers coach Lisa Keightley, who will lead Thunder’s title assault for a second season in WBBL|10.
In the end though, Peschel’s move was inspired by a desire to move out of her comfort zone and squeeze every last bit out of her potential.
“At the Scorchers, I’ve been given utmost every opportunity, but I felt like I’d been stagnant for the last season or two,” Peschel said.
“I always play the safe card and I’ve always stayed in WA and thought, okay, I’m still getting opportunity, I’ll stay here. I think just this year, something clicked.
“I thought, I’ve got to try something else. I’ve got to stop playing a safe card. Who knows what something like a change to another team can offer my career.”
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Once she had made the decision to try her hand with a new club – and there were several options – Peschel’s path once again crossed with that of Keightley.
It was Keightley, who almost a decade ago had pulled Peschel out of premature retirement, first for the Western Australian side, and then the Scorchers.
At the time, Peschel was over elite cricket, having moved into the professional scene as a 19-year-old, leaving just as quickly.
She was playing club cricket when Keightley came knocking a few years later, offering a new culture and a cricketing lifeline.
“Taneale was playing club cricket, and she was the fastest bowler there, the best bowler there, and I just thought she had the potential to give it another crack at a higher level,” Keightley remembers.
“I try to create an environment in which players can feel comfortable in being themselves and thrive. We offered Taneale that opportunity at that time and we will offer that opportunity again at Thunder.
“Taneale is a highly skilled bowler and has pace that not many have. It’s what we are after to compliment our medium pacers. She has bowled at key times for the Scorchers, in the power play and at the death and done really well.
“She is a good all round person and cricket player, a real team first player, and I think she will fit in really well with the dynamics of our team.”
Peschel is the second big name interstate player to choose Sydney Thunder ahead of rival clubs in recent weeks following the three-year contract signed earlier this month by former Brisbane Heat star Georgia Voll.
Sydney Thunder WBBL|10 Squad (as at July 16): Samantha Bates, Hannah Darlington, Saskia Horley, Anika Learoyd, Phoebe Litchfield, Claire Moore, Taneale Peschel, Georgia Voll, Tahlia Wilson
