Photo Credit: Hobart Hurricanes
In an announcement that will excite Hobart Hurricanes fans across Australia, Hobart Hurricanes WBBL|09 Captain Elyse Villani, and one of Australia’s best-ever Women’s T20 batters, is continuing her career in purple!
Upon signing a two-year deal at the end of last season, Villani has revitalised her career in Tasmania since moving south. She explained,
“I love being on board the Cane train!
“I’m excited about the direction we are heading in, and being a part of that vision, we share as a whole organisation, players and staff alike, makes it a no-brainer for me,” said Villani.
The 34-year-old started her Hurricanes career in WBBL|08 after playing for the Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars in previous iterations of the WBBL.
Villani has had one of the most distinguished careers in Domestic women’s cricket in Australia, having the 4th most runs of all-time in the WBBL with 3403 runs, only trailing Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, and Sophie Devine.
With a career-high score of 100*, and an impressive 25 WBBL fifties, Villani’s consistency has seen her be a great asset to the Hurricanes organisation, on and off the field.
Although Villani’s performances with the bat are vital for the Hurricanes, her leadership separates her from the other talented cricketers on the Hurricanes list.
She empowers her teammates to be better and sets the tone for the rest of the team with her training intensity, as she provides an example for all young players who watch ‘Junior’ perform game after game.
Last season, Villani scored the second most runs for the Hurricanes with 324 runs in 13 matches, as she led the Hurricanes to a sixth-place position, one win outside of the top four and a finals berth.
Villani’s international T20 credentials are equally as impressive as her domestic statistics, in an international career spanning from 2009 through to 2018, Villani scored 1369 runs and is fifth on the total run-scorers list for Australia in all Women’s T20 Internationals.
High Performance General Manager at Cricket Tasmania, Salliann Beams discussed how important Villani has been for the organisation since she decided to sign with the Hurricanes.
“Junior has been a transformative figure for our organisation since she made the move to Tasmania, she has a desire to continually improve and the ambition to keep taking our program to new heights.
“We have seen her bring her unique leadership style, and challenge how things are done, as we continue to search for ways to improve the Hurricanes franchise and bring success to Tasmania.
“On the field, to have someone with her skill and experience open the batting, have such a cool head under pressure, and lead our team, gives us every chance to have success in the coming two seasons with Elyse on our list,” said Beams.
Villani joins Nicola Carey, Heather Graham, Ruth Johnston, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Amy Smith, Lauren Smith, Molly Strano and Rachel Trenaman as Hurricanes players under contract ahead of WBBL|10.
Hurricanes WBBL fixtures have just been announced last week, and memberships are on sale now.
