Photo Credit: Melbourne Renegades
One of the world’s premier fast bowlers will line up for the Melbourne Renegades this summer.
South African speedster Shabnim Ismail is back in red, returning to the club where she made her WBBL debut in the competition’s inaugural season.
The 33-year-old boasts a wealth of experience. She has represented South Africa on 233 occasions and is their all-time leading wicket-taker
Ismail has claimed 27 wickets from 31 WBBL matches across three seasons with the Renegades and Sydney Thunder, with an economy rate below six runs per over.
The right-arm quick is excited to call the Renegades home again this summer.
“I started off there in 2016 and I’m happy to be coming back to the Renegades this year. I love the WBBL, it’s one of my favourite competitions to play in,” Ismail said.
“I met Sophie Molineux when I think she was 16 years old and now she’s captaining the team, so I’m really looking forward to playing alongside her again.
“For me, it’s about having fun on and off the field and being the professional out there I know I can be. With the new ball, I want to strike up front and get the team in good positions in the powerplay.
“Every team wants to play good cricket; everybody wants to get to the finals. Hopefully we can get over the line this year and win the Big Bash.”
Ismail currently sits in fourth place on the ICC bowling rankings, in both the T20I and ODI formats.
She has more than 300 international wickets to her name, including 115 in T20Is with an economy rate of 5.8.
“Shabnim is one of the world’s most experienced and most successful bowlers and will be fantastic addition to our team,” Melbourne Renegades General Manager, James Rosengarten, said.
“We were looking to bolster our pace stocks and to be able to bring Shabnim back to the Renegades is a great outcome. Her ability to take wickets up front, bowl in pressure situations and be able to guide some of our younger players will be really beneficial for us.
“With our local playing list and the additions of Shabnim, Harmanpreet Kaur and Hayley Matthews, there’s a lot of optimism about what our team might be able to achieve this summer.”
The Renegades will begin their WBBL|08 campaign on October 16 against the Brisbane Heat in Mackay, ahead of home matches in Ballarat (October 29-30) and Melbourne (November 10-13) later in the season.
Melbourne Renegades memberships and tickets are now on sale.
‘Mates Rates’ membership prices are available before September 5. Double Up’ memberships – which include access to two BBL matches and all WBBL matches – are just $15 for juniors and $55 for adults. Click here for full details.
To view the full WBBL|08 fixture, click here.
WBBL|08 Squad (so far): Sophie Molineux (C), Sarah Coyte, Josie Dooley, Ellie Falconer, Ella Hayward, Shabnim Ismail, Harmanpreet Kaur, Carly Leeson, Hayley Matthews, Rhiann O’Donnell, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham, Courtney Webb
Name of Author: Melbourne Renegades
Melbourne Renegades are an Australian professional men’s Twenty20 franchise cricket club based in Melbourne, Australia. They compete in the Australian Twenty20 cricket competition, the Big Bash League.
