As Elyse Villani prepares to welcome her first child, a new leader has stepped up to lead the Tigers in 2026-27
New skipper, all-round recruits set up Tassie for WNCL title push
The ability to perform under pressure will be key for Tasmania as they head into the women's domestic season with a new captain and fresh recruits.
After a dominant run in the Women's National Cricket League that saw the Tigers win three consecutive titles before narrowly missing finals in 2024-25, last season was a fall from grace that saw Tasmania finish second bottom on the table.
Heading into 2026-27, experienced leg-spinner Maisy Gibson has been appointed captain, stepping into the huge shoes of Elyse Villani who is set to welcome her first child.
The Tigers have also boosted their all-round stocks, poaching the exciting Ella Hayward from Victoria and signing English allrounder Alice Davidson-Richards.
Speaking to cricket.com.au ahead of the season, coach Jude Coleman said improvement across the board would be needed for Tasmania to return to the top end of the table.
WNCL season previews
"We had glimpses of really good (cricket) with bat and ball, but we just haven't been able to put it together on the day," Coleman said.
"We've spent a fair bit of time in the preseason working around how we respond when we're under pressure and just making sure we're really clear on what our process is and being able to still play a positive brand of cricket whilst we're under pressure.
"We've spent a lot of time on that. So no matter the result, what I'm wanting to see from the players is they really commit to that positive style of cricket no matter what the situation."
The Tigers earlier this year unveiled a 19-strong contract list for the 2026-27 season, with wicketkeeper-batter Kate Pelle also joining their squad after departing New South Wales, while former Queenslander Caity Mair was awarded a full contract after making the move to Tasmania last season, and Ava Curtis and Mia Barwick both earned rookie contracts.
One of the most exciting young prospects in Tasmania cricket, Barwick made her WNCL debut last season at just 15 years of age.
Aussie player availability
Nicola Carey is the only CA-contracted player on the Tasmania list and she is likely to be available for the opening two matches against Western Australia, with Aussie players to be in action for their states ahead of upcoming white-ball series against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
Carey's availability may otherwise be limited: Australia are touring Sri Lanka when the WNCL season resumes in December, and have a packed back-end of the summer featuring the T20 Champions Trophy in February, ODIs against New Zealand in early March, followed by a multi-format tour of South Africa.
The Women's Premier League in India will again be played in January, further impacting the availability of top players.
2026-27 squad
Head coach: Jude Coleman
Squad: Nicola Carey*, Alice Davidson-Richards, Maisy Gibson, Ella Hayward, Ruth Johnston, Sara Kennedy, Lizelle Lee, Caity Mair, Kate Pelle, Tabatha Saville, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Courtney Sippel, Lauren Smith, Naomi Stalenberg, Rachel Trenaman, Elyse Villani, Callie Wilson.
Rookies: Ava Curtis, Mia Barwick
Ins: Alice Davidson-Richards, Ella Hayward (Vic), Caity Mair, Kate Pelle (NSW), Mia Barwick
Outs: Kathryn Bryce, Emma Manix-Geeves (NSW), Amy Smith
* Denotes Cricket Australia contract
Last season
Result: Sixth (3 wins, 9 losses)
After three consecutive titles and only narrowly missing the decider in 2024-25, last season was a fall from grace for the Tigers who finished well off the pace in sixth spot on the table.
Possible XI for round one
Ella Hayward, Lizelle Lee (wk), Nicola Carey, Naomi Stalenberg, Alice Davidson-Richards, Ruth Johnston, Kate Pelle, Courtney Sippel, Lauren Smith, Maisy Gibson (c), Callie Wilson
* Rachel Trenaman and Hayley Silver-Holmes are touring India with Australia A
Inside word with head coach Jude Coleman
The new skipper
Veteran leg-spinner Maisy Gibson has stepped into the captaincy shoes of Elyse Villani, who will miss the upcoming season for the birth of her first child.
Gibson, 30, has established herself as a key member of the Tigers' set-up since making the move from New South Wales to Tasmania in 2019, overcoming the significant challenge of multiple serious knee injuries. She took a break from professional cricket before returning to the Tasmania set-up in 2024, where she took out the Veronica Pyke Medal as female Tigers player of the year in her first season back.
"It's definitely big shoes to fill," Coleman said. "But one of the things we've spoken about with Maisy a lot is (to make sure) she'll just be herself and not try and live up to Junior's legacy that she's left, and just bring her own spin to it.
"She's been fantastic so far. She hasn't had a lot of opportunity on field yet just with coming back from a knee op, she only got to play one game on the Sunshine Coast. But off-field she's been fantastic and really kept her unique nature in in how she goes about it.
"I think she's been a brilliant leader, and she's been well supported by our leadership group of Rachel Trenaman and Hayley Silver-Holmes. I'm looking forward to seeing how she goes, and Junior's still been around the group to offer support, but Maisy's done a fantastic job so far."
The English import
The Tigers have once again exercised their ability to include one overseas player on their contract list, signing English allrounder Alice Davidson-Richards for the upcoming summer.
Davidson-Richards replaced Scotland captain Kathryn Bryce as the Tigers' import, with Bryce not offered another contract due to limited availability and international commitments.
A pace-bowling allrounder, Davidson-Richards has played 19 matches across all formats for England, last appearing in national colours in July 2025.
"We're really looking forward to having her around the group," Coleman said.
"I haven't worked with her before, but a number of people in the squad and the staff have and they've said she's an amazing person to have around the group, great experience, a real leader within the group.
"On the field, she's just going to give us that all-round option, reliability of hitting the stumps with the ball, and then a bit of experience in the middle-order with the bat."
The recruits
Tasmania pulled off a coup over winter, luring 22-year-old Ella Hayward from Victoria. Hayward, who debuted in the WBBL back in 2020, broke into the Victoria team as an off-spinner but evolved her all-round game in recent seasons, cementing a spot at the top of the batting order.
After being crowned Victoria's best player for the 2024-25 season, she was appointed co-vice-captain for the following summer alongside Rhys McKenna.
At the Tigers, Hayward will bolster a Tigers spin attack that parted ways with leg-spinner Amy Smith, who was not re-signed for 2026-27, while also adding depth to their batting line-up.
"I've watched Ella play for a number of years now," Coleman said.
"She's just got that all-round game, and what really stood out for me was just that ability to grind with the bat, and then just consistency with the ball.
"Since Molly (Strano) went to Victoria, we obviously have Lauren Smith, who's done a fantastic job in the spin department for us, but Ella's a different kind of off-spinner, so we're really looking forward to her playing that role where she can bowl in all three phases and hopefully take a lot of wickets for us.
"And without giving too much away, I see her playing a similar role (with the bat) down here."
Also signing with Tasmania was Kate Pelle, a former Australia Under-19 representative alongside Hayward, who debuted for NSW during the 2024-25 WNCL season but could not break into their XI in 2025-26.
The 20-year-old will help cover the departure of Emma Manix-Geeves, who moved to NSW.
Caity Mair was awarded a full-time contract, meanwhile, after the former Queenslander played one match for Tasmania last season, breaking into the senior side after impressive performances in Premier Cricket and for Tasmania's Second XI.
"She's been great around the group," Coleman said of Mair.
"She's a real character, and I think the girls just love her sense of humour and it's been nice to have her around because she really values another opportunity.
"She'd been around the Queensland squad a few years back and got delisted a couple of seasons ago, and she now just really has loved the opportunity to be back in a full-time program, and she's giving it her all."
The preseason
"We've had a few fresh new faces around the group, which has been lovely," Coleman said. "They've settled in well. It's the typical grind down here in Tassie, though, preseason – we have obviously cold weather, and it's always a bit tough to be out in the elements, but the girls have done well.
'We don't get centre-wicket access down here, with football being taking over all our ovals, so it's a lot of net work and can be a bit of a grind but they've done pretty well.
"We had a week up on the Sunshine Coast, which we always look forward to, got some good time out in the middle and (we're) just keen to get more and more of that as we struggle through preseasons down here."