A lack of game time heading into WBBL|11 has not stopped Heather Graham from making a serious impact for the Hurricanes
Graham off the bench to lead the charge for Hobart in WBBL|11
After sitting on the sidelines throughout Australia's ODI World Cup campaign, Heather Graham is making up for lost time in WBBL|11.
The allrounder is sitting on top of the wickets table at the midway point of the regular season, having taken 14 wickets at 11.64 in six games to help lead the Hobart Hurricanes' charge to the top of the table.
Her rich run of form with the ball continued against Sydney Sixers on Saturday, where she captured a career-best 4-29.
With four regular-season matches remaining and with the Hurricanes all-but certain to play finals, Graham is on track to better her previous best season with the ball, which saw her take 22 in 14 games in 2018-19.
"I hadn't played much cricket (over) the last seven weeks, so it's been nice to come out and contribute where I can," Graham said in Hobart late last week.
"It's been really nice to get back out on the park, having not played since the first round of WNCL."
Graham, 29, had initially missed out on a spot in Australia's ODI World Cup squad, but received a late call-up when Grace Harris was ruled out with a calf strain on the eve of the tournament.
Once she arrived in India, however, no further opportunities arose.
While Sophie Molineux's carefully managed knee meant she and Georgia Wareham rotated places in the XI throughout the tournament, Darcie Brown was given two cracks at making an impact with her additional pace, and Alyssa Healy's calf injury saw Georgia Voll open the batting in two games, Graham was consigned to carrying drinks as Australia made an unbeaten run through the round stage before their shock semi-final defeat.
It has been a familiar role for Graham in recent years; the Western Australian regularly features in Australian squads but last took the field in a T20I in Mackay in September 2024, when Ashleigh Gardner was a late scratching after suffering an injury during the warm-up.
She's played five T20Is and one ODI since making her international debut in 2019, but with Australia currently canvassing their options for next year's T20 World Cup in England, Graham's purple patch has come at the perfect time to convince selectors her name could move up the pecking order.
Graham however has her focus on the Hurricanes, as they hunt their first WBBL title.
Asked if the current Hobart group had the strongest list of any franchise she had been involved with, Graham said, "I think so", as she pointed to the side's experience.
"Every team's different, and every team's always got their strengths, but we've got a really good list.
"Everyone can bat, everyone can just about bowl as well.
"It's a pretty special group, we've enjoyed playing with each other and the vibe's really good on and off the field."
Weber WBBL|11 Standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HUR
|
10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.662 | 0 | 15 |
|
2
SIX
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -0.313 | 0 | 13 |
|
3
SCO
|
10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | -0.132 | 0 | 12 |
|
4
STA
|
10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.629 | 0 | 11 |
|
5
REN
|
10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.121 | 0 | 10 |
|
6
STR
|
10 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0.077 | 0 | 9 |
|
7
THU
|
10 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | -0.124 | 0 | 9 |
|
8
HEA
|
10 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | -0.869 | 0 | 1 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points