Hurricanes Sign Athapaththu As Wyatt-Hodge's Replacement For WBBL 12

(MENAFN- IANS) Hobart, Oct 26 (IANS) The Hobart Hurricanes have signed Sri Lankan captain Chamari Athapaththu for the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL 12) as an overseas replacement player for England international Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who has been ruled out of the tournament due to injury.

Wyatt-Hodge was the club's leading run-scorer in their title-winning campaign in WBBL 11 (432 runs at 48.00) and was crowned the club's WBBL Player of the Year. The England opener was on song right from the get-go, launching her way to a 52-ball 90 in the club's opening game before rounding out the season with four half-centuries and an average a touch under 50.

Currently ranked sixth in the ICC Women's T20I batting rankings, Ahapaththu has featured in the past seven WBBL seasons of the competition across between the Perth Scorchers, Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Thunder.

The 36-year-old enjoyed a remarkable campaign with the Thunder in WBBL|09, amassing 552 runs at an average of 42.46, including five half-centuries, to claim Player of the Tournament honours.

She also collected nine wickets during that campaign, underlining her ability to influence matches with both bat and ball.

"We're obviously incredibly disappointed for Danni, who has been such an important part of our group and was influential in our maiden championship last year,” Hurricanes Head of High Performance Salliann Beams said.

“We wish her all the very best with her recovery. To be able to bring in someone of Chamari's quality and experience is a fantastic result for the Hurricanes. She's one of the most dangerous batters in world cricket, she's a proven performer in the WBBL and she brings enormous leadership experience as captain of Sri Lanka," she added.

Moreover, emerging wicketkeeper-batter Kate Pelle has also been rewarded for her impressive Spring Challenge campaign with a contract for the upcoming season.

The dual signings provide the reigning champions with a timely boost ahead of their season opener against the Melbourne Stars on Thursday

Beams said Pelle had thoroughly deserved her opportunity. "Having someone who can provide flexibility with the bat and also offer another quality option behind the stumps is really important across a competition like the WBBL. Kate has worked hard for this opportunity and we're delighted to reward her performances with a Hurricanes contract," said Beams.

With star opener Lizelle Lee unavailable, Pelle was handed the responsibility of opening the batting and responded with several eye-catching performances.

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