South Africa’s star batter Lizelle Lee who announced her international retirement on July 8 has joined Hobart Hurricanes ahead of the upcoming WBBL08.
Lizelle Lee Joined Hobart Hurricanes
It is worth mentioning that the 30-year-old opener was awarded the best women’s one-day international cricketer for 2021 in January, before being then named the leading women’s cricketer in the world in April.
Lee missed the tournament last season but has now made a return by signing up with Hurricanes, where her former SA teammate Mignon du Preez also plies her trade. Notably, the upcoming WBBL season will be the fifth for Lizelle Lee. READ: Women’s Big Bash League 2022-23 Schedule, Squad, and Coach Details
“My good friend and South African teammate, Mignon, said she really enjoyed her time in the Hurricanes environment last season,” Lee said.
“So that, on top of the great conversations I’ve had with Sall [head coach Salliann Briggs] and the team, I can’t wait to get stuck in and see what it’s like for myself this year”.
“Some people might know that I was originally meant to join the Hurricanes last year, but due to a combination of my family circumstances, international commitments and bubble fatigue, for the sake our my own and my family’s well-being, I just couldn’t make it work,” Lee added.
A South African star? Yes please. ⭐️
Welcome to purple Lizelle! 🔥
SEE HERE: https://t.co/xAs4w0g9Mk#TasmaniasTeam #WBBL08 pic.twitter.com/Sdef5OqIep
— Hobart Hurricanes (@HurricanesBBL) July 28, 2022
Former South African star Lizelle Lee has played 53 matches in WBBL and scored 1361 runs at a strike rate of 124.86 which includes two undefeated hundreds.
Lizelle Lee Retirement Controversy
The opening batter stepped away from international cricket on July 8, saying she was “ready for the next phase of my career”, and would continue playing franchise T20 cricket but provided no other reasons for quitting until today.
After Moreeng was asked at a press conference whether CSA’s alleged refusal to let Lee play in the Hundred led to her premature retirement, he said, “No comment, I was not aware of that.”
Lee, however, tweeted that Moreeng “was definitely aware”. She also said, “I told him in person and it was said in a meeting with CSA”, but clarified that Moreeng “was not in that meeting.”
CSA’s national women’s coach: I was not aware of CSA request to deny Lizelle Lee an NOC. Lizelle Lee: He was aware. CSA statement: They’re both wrong.
Clear as mud, as always.— Firdose Moonda (@FirdoseM) July 18, 2022
Before announcing her retirement from international cricket, Lee had represented the Proteas in 82 T20Is, 100 ODIs, and two Test matches. Lizelle Lee holds the record for scoring the most number of runs for the Proteas in T20Is – 1896 runs.
