Milly Illingworth, a young Australian fast bowler, had a trying 48 hours that included both elation and a personal loss. The 20-year-old, who signed her first Women’s Premier League (WPL) deal with the Mumbai Indians, awoke on Friday to learn that her flat had flooded overnight. Because of the unforeseen damage, she will have to spend a large portion of her auction proceeds on home repairs.
During the expedited round of the 2026 auction, the Mumbai Indians acquired Illingworth at INR 10 lakh as her base price. While the occasion marked a significant milestone in her career, her Australian flat had been severely flooded just hours before.
Sophie Molineux, captain of the Melbourne Renegades, addressed the situation while speaking from the sidelines of the match versus the Melbourne Stars. Molineux delivered the news in a light-hearted manner.
“Well, she’ll be super excited because she’s just been picked up in WPL for (0:03) the Mumbai Indians. That’s massive, isn’t it? It’s so, it’s amazing and it’s really (0:08) funny. Her apartment flooded last night, so whatever money she’s making, that’s (0:13) going straight to the, to fix up her apartment. So that’s a bit of a running (0:17) joke at the moment. My word, she’s absolutely going to be devastated with that,” Molineux said.
Looks like Milly Illingworth’s WPL payday with the Mumbai Indians is going straight to her apartment 😅 #WBBL11 pic.twitter.com/ttMjYy5Uvy
— Weber Women’s Big Bash League (@WBBL) November 29, 2025
Illingworth registers career best WBBL figures
Despite the tough situation at home, Illingworth had a brilliant outing with the ball while playing for the Melbourne Renegades in the WBBL derby against the Melbourne Stars at Junction Oval. She produced her best-ever figures in the tournament, finishing with 3 for 19 from four overs.
She first removed Rhys McKenna, before returning to dismiss Marizanne Kapp and Danielle Gibson in her second spell. Her efforts helped restrict the Stars to 160 for 5, although the Renegades ultimately suffered a heavy 45-run defeat after being bowled out for 115.
Illingworth has now taken 17 wickets from 33 WBBL matches and will soon join the Mumbai Indians, where she will have the chance to play alongside Nat Sciver-Brunt, Nicola Carey, and Shabnim Ismail.
India
