The WBBL Brisbane Heat have reinstated English international Lauren Winfield-Hill and called on teenage Wests allrounder Lily Bassingthwaighte for tomorrow night’s crucial Allan Border Field clash with the Melbourne Stars.
Heat Eye Stars | Winfield-Hill Back
Winfield-Hill, who played the opening two games for the Heat as a replacement for Nadine de Klerk, will again take over from the South African allrounder who has returned home to prepare for the Proteas series against England.
Bassingthwaighte, 17, has been approved by the WBBL Technical Committee as a Local Replacement Player, taking the spot of fellow allrounder Ruby Strange who has been sidelined with a thigh injury.
Both players have been named in the Heat’s squad of 13 to prepare for the match against the Stars, the first of two games at Allan Border Field with Brisbane also hosting the Sydney Sixers on Sunday night.
The Heat currently sit in third spot on the Weber Women’s Big Bash League ladder with two regular season games left.
They are chasing their seventh Finals appearance in a row as a club, having won their two titles to date in that period.
Tomorrow night’s game is the annual First Nations Round match for the Heat.
Rising Sunshine Coast Indigenous singer/songwriter Layla Havana will perform a pre-game musical showcase while both teams and match officials will wear specially designed uniforms.
Queensland members of the National Indigenous training squad that have spent this week in camp in Melbourne will attend and spend time with the Heat squad in the pre and post-game, along with fellow members of the Queensland Indigenous Women’s squad.
The Heat will wear its distinctive playing strip that was designed by Queensland artist ‘Aunty’ Delly McDonald and former Heat player Mikayla Hinkley.
The design has on the front of the jersey a centrepiece in Heat colours that depicts the Brisbane Cricket Ground in Woolloongabba (“place of whirling water”.
The centre circle is the Gabba, alongside other water holes which used to be near the ground. There are 87 strokes that represent the first-class wickets taken by the trail-blazing Aboriginal great, Eddie Gilbert (23 games for Queensland).
The Brisbane River, with its abundance of foods, plus animal and human tracks, is illustrated on the long sleeve versions of the shirt by the Rainbow serpent/snake. This motif represents both male and female players.
The back of the playing shirt contains a Circle representing the Gabba, with the lines radiating out illustrating the journeys the teams take to and from the ground. It is a special place where all are included and welcome.
The match will be broadcast live on Channel 7 and Foxtel and streamed through 7Plus and Kayo.
Weber Women’s Big Bash League
Brisbane Heat v Melbourne Stars
Allan Border Field
Tomorrow, 7.10pm Qld time
WBBL Brisbane Heat
21. Jess Jonassen (c)
8. Georgia Redmayne (v-c)
22. Lily Bassingthwaighte
11. Sianna Ginger
5. Lucy Hamilton
44. Nicola Hancock
17. Grace Harris
4. Laura Harris
88. Charli Knott
12. Shikha Pandey (India)
34. Grace Parsons
50. Jemimah Rodrigues (India)
58. Lauren Winfield-Hill (Eng)