Eight rookie cricketers earmarked to play in WBBL 3

With the Women’s Big Bash League just around the corner, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced the next intake of the ICC Rookie Placement Programme. The initiative is a collaborative programme with Cricket Australia (CA) to invest in the development of women’s cricket through the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) 2017-2018.

And in a bid to extend the same, eight rookie cricketers from five member countries have been earmarked to join each one of the WBBL franchise clubs. The two-week placement will provide the players with the opportunity to experience professional cricket environments, and in the process accelerate their development through training sessions.

Apart from that, the rookies will also have the opportunity to take part in media and promotional activities and will provide a major boost to their respective national teams when they return.

Non-members

Members outside of those competing in the ICC Women’s Championship and have qualified for the 2018 Women’s World T20 Qualifier were offered the opportunity to nominate players for the programme.

The other rookies selected for WBBL are Scotland’s Kathryn Bryce (Strikers) and Sarah Bryce (Hurricanes), Bangladesh pair Rumana Ahmed (Heat) and Khadija Tul Kubra (Stars), Ireland’s Gaby Lewis (Renegades), Papua New Guinea’s Ravini Oa (Scorchers), and Netherlands’ Sterre Kalis (Thunder).

Highlighting the importance of programmes like these for upcoming cricketers, ICC’s Women Cricket Officer, Holly Colvin said, ”It is fantastic to collaborate once again with the Women’s Big Bash League which provides an unrivaled opportunity to eight rising stars competing outside of the ICC Women’s Championship in a professional elite environment.The players can train alongside the very best and accelerate their development. This is an exciting time for the game and this investment assists us with growing the game across the world.”

The WBBL is set to kick start on December 9 with Melbourne Renegades taking on Sydney Thunder at the North Sydney Oval.