WBBL 2024: Lizelle Lee expands connection with Hobart Hurricanes, signs two-year contract

Lizelle Lee, a former top-order batter for South Africa, has agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Hobart Hurricanes Women. Lee was signed by the Hurricanes as a pre-draft foreign signing.

After making his debut for the Hurricanes in 2022, the 32-year-old abruptly retired from international cricket that same year and relocated to Tasmania. In the Women’s Big Bash League of 2023, the Hurricanes had a hurricane-like season, but Lee was one of the few bright spots amidst the darkness; she finished as the team’s top run scorer. She had a strong strike rate of 146.07 and scored 409 runs in the 13 innings that she played.

Lizelle Lee recently talked about the team’s positive trend, even though they narrowly missed the playoffs.

She also stated that her team’s ultimate goal is to win the WBBL championship for the first time. Lee said, “I feel like the team made some strong progress last season, and I am looking forward to playing my role and natural game as we look to bring Tasmania and the Hurricanes their first WBBL trophy,” according to a Hurricanes statement that reported.

Salliann Beams, the general manager of Cricket Tasmania, has nothing but kind things to say about Lee and the contributions she makes to the squad.

“I believe we have perhaps the most skilled and experienced opening combination in the WBBL with her and Junior [Elyse Villani] at the top of our lineup. With our overseas pre-signing, she [Lee] gave us a great deal of flexibility, and since we were the top choice in the WBBL draft, it made sense for us to pre-sign someone who we knew could contribute to the team. She has demonstrated time and time again that she can alter the course of the game both in the field and with the bat for South Africa in international cricket as well as the WBBL’, Beams said.

Notably, Lee has an excellent record in white-ball cricket, particularly in the 50-over division. She amassed 3315 runs at an astounding strike rate of 84.22 and a noteworthy average of 36.42 in the 100 games she participated in. She is currently ranked 16th in the tournament’s all-time run-getters list with 2066 runs collected during her WBBL adventure.