Lizelle Lee has re-signed with the Hobart Hurricanes for two more seasons in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).
The Hurricanes handed the former South African international player a two-year overseas pre-signing deal last summer. Since then, Lee has had her Australian permanent residency approved, which allows her to sign as a local player, and she has now signed a fresh deal under this status.
Lee’s impact on the Hurricanes has been profound. In season 10 of the WBBL, she delivered a record-breaking performance. She scored an unbeaten 150 runs off 75 balls against the Perth Scorchers, setting the highest individual score in the tournament’s history. Her innings included 12 boundaries, the most in a single WBBL match. Lee followed that with 103 against the Strikers just three days later.
Throughout the season, Lee smashed 409 runs with a strike rate of 146.07, earning her the title of Hobart Hurricanes WBBL Player of the Season. Her exceptional performance secured her a spot in the WBBL Team of the Tournament, highlighting her as the top performer in the league.
Lee has been a dynamic force in women’s cricket, particularly in franchise leagues. Across her WBBL career, she has amassed 2465 runs across three teams, smashing five hundreds and 11 fifties at a strike rate of 131.32. After retiring from international cricket in July 2022, Lee focused on playing domestic and franchise cricket, stating that she would continue to play T20 cricket around the world.
She retired as the leading women’s run-scorer for South Africa in T20Is and the second highest in ODIs. Lee played 100 ODIs and 82 T20Is for South Africa, amassing 3315 and 1896 runs in both formats respectively. Post-retirement, Lee has embraced the franchise circuit, turning heads in both The Hundred and the WBBL.
“We are delighted to have Lizelle around in purple for the next two seasons, and her batting last season was instrumental in our WBBL Finals run. While we already had her signed as our Overseas Pre-Signing, having her now as a local player, gives us even further flexibility to bring more talent to our WBBL11 squad. Her performances last season, especially her back-to-back hundreds, showed she was one of the form batters in women’s T20 cricket,” said Cricket Tasmania’s General Manager of High Performance, Salliann Beams.
Looking ahead, Lee is set to continue her role as a key opener for the Hurricanes, partnering with seasoned players like Elyse Villani. Her transition to a local player reflects not only her commitment to the team but also provides the Hurricanes with greater flexibility in their squad composition.
(Quote sourced from cricket.com.au)
