Like many cricketers, Lizelle Lee has pencilled in an appearance at the Olympics - but she has a different approach in mind
Lee hints at career change as milestone WBBL match looms
Hobart Hurricanes opener Lizelle Lee has her sights set on an eventual return to international cricket – just not in the manner you may expect.
The former South Africa batter is set to play her 100th WBBL game on Wednesday and while she's not looking at calling time on her playing career anytime soon, the 33-year-old does have some ideas about what life could look like when she eventually does.
While plying her trade for the Hurricanes and Tasmania, where she now features as a local player having gained her Australian permanent residency, Lee has also been honing her umpiring skills.
Earlier this month, she formed half of the first female duo to officiate a men's third-grade game in Tasmanian Premier cricket, and after WBBL|11 wraps up in mid-December Lee will head to Newcastle to umpire in the Female U19 National Championships.
Beyond that, she's dreaming big.
"I don't want to take away my cricket, because I still feel like there's a lot in me, but I would not mind being one of the top international umpires," Lee told reporters in Hobart this week.
"That's something that I really want to do – and who doesn't want to go to the Olympics, it doesn't matter what you're going for.
"So I would love to do that as well … 2032, there's a Brisbane one, so fingers crossed maybe if I'm done playing by then, hopefully I can do that."
More immediately, Lee is helping to lead the charge for the top-of-the-table Hurricanes, who have made their strongest start to a WBBL season in a decade.
She forms a potent opening partnership with experienced England batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge and while Lee has yet to go as big in WBBL|11 as she did last season, when she hit back-to-back tons, she has been making an impact, sitting fifth on the runs table, with her 182 runs coming at an imposing strike rate of 150.41.
"I feel like I can always do better, and I wish I could score a hundred every single game, but that's clearly not possible," Lee said.
"But I think I've been hitting the ball really well, I've just been making very small mistakes that's been costing my wicket.
"That's always the goal, is making those small scores into big ones, and at the end of the day, I just want to take the team across the line."
Lee's journey to 100 WBBL matches has stretched across eight seasons and three clubs.
She made her first appearance in WBBL|03 in 2017-18, spending three seasons with Melbourne Stars before a move to the Renegades in WBBL|06.
Her retirement from international cricket and full-time move to Tasmania, where she has settled with her wife Tanja and their two children, then coincided with Lee signing with the Hurricanes ahead of WBBL|08.
She has yet to lift the trophy, but with the Hurricanes on top of the table and currently red-hot favourites in WBBL|11, her wait could soon be over.
"(A home final) would be amazing," Lee said.
"I love being home. I love playing front of my family and the crowd in Hobart hopefully we can pull a few more wins through and make that a home final.
"We saw with the boys last season, it was incredible to have an amazing crowd out here, so hopefully we can just do what they did."
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