With a stable squad that finally got over the hurdle for silverware last summer, Queensland believe they are well placed to do it again
Fire primed for shot at back-to-back WNCL titles
Queensland head into the new WNCL season off the back of a sensational title-winning season feeling bullish about retaining the Ruth Preddey Trophy for the first time.
And with a settled squad boasting considerable depth, variety in their attack and no shortage of batting firepower, they have every reason to believe.
"Back to back? I'd love to," said Georgia Redmayne, who will continue as full-time skipper after leading the Fire in last summer's final win over NSW in Sydney.
"Obviously it's not something that's going to be easy, but I think we do have the team and the depth to be able to do it.
"We're feeling really settled. We've had some really good preparation. We've had a lot of game time with the T20 Max tournament up in Brisbane, and a handful of practice games up at the Sunshine Coast.
"It's a very important round one against New South Wales, who are always very strong and very competitive. So the group feels pretty relaxed, but quite focused, and we know that they're very important games first up."
WNCL season previews
Aussie player availability
The CA-contracted trio of Grace Harris, Georgia Voll and Lucy Hamilton are set to be available for the opening two matches against New South Wales.
Their availability for the remainder of the season is less clear: 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 – although none of the SA trio featured in 2026, and the 2027 auction has yet to be held.
2026-27 squad
Head coach: Mark Sorell
Squad: Lily Bassingthwaighte, Bonnie Berry, Lucy Bourke, Grace Collins, Sianna Ginger, Lilli Hamilton, Lucy Hamilton (CA), Nicola Hancock, Grace Harris (CA), Jess Jonassen, Charli Knott, Annie O'Neil, Grace Parsons, Georgia Redmayne, Georgia Voll (CA), Catherine White, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Mikayla Wrigley. Rookies: Aya Kato-Stafford, Filippa SueSee
Ins: Grace Collins, Lilli Hamilton, Catherine White, Aya Kato-Stafford, Filippa SueSee
Outs: Ruby Strange (WA), Laura Harris
* Denotes Cricket Australia contract
Last season
Result: Winners, beat NSW in the final by seven runs
Possible XI for round one
Queensland XI: Georgia Redmayne (c, wk), Georgia Voll, Mikayla Wrigley, Grace Harris, Lucy Bourke/Grace Collins, Jess Jonassen, Lauren Winfield-Hill, Annie O'Neil, Lucy Hamilton, Nicola Hancock, Grace Parsons, Catherine White/Lily Bassingthwaighte/Bonnie Berry
* Charli Knott and Sianna Ginger are touring India with Australia A
Inside word with head coach Mark Sorell and skipper Redmayne
Queensland coach Mark Sorell was impressed on the whole with his players' performances in August's KFC T20 Max tournament in Brisbane. With good weather and good competition, he feels it is something the group can capitalise on to make a running start into the season proper.
"I want it to be an advantage for us," Sorell told cricket.com.au. "And I think this year you can see that it is: quality teams, quality opposition, good facilities – it's been great, and a lot of our players had really good tournaments.
"The likes of Grace Collins, and Lily Bassingthwaighte, Mikayla Wrigley, Aya Stafford – the list is quite significant of players that we rate highly, but they're getting in amongst those better state-and-WBBL-contracted players and showing that they're up for it."
Queensland's coaching staff have been operating within what Sorell calls "the new norm" of pre-season, where a number of players come and go depending on overseas commitments. Sorell has put some onus back on his players to take control of their own destinies.
"Gone are the days where you pull together your group of 16, and you spend 12 weeks together and have camps and all that sort of stuff," he said. "We looked at (pre-season) as a great advantage to get our players that are (around) – some of the younger ones and the developing players – to understand themselves better, to build out the connection there and give them some more opportunity. I think it's been a perfect little dynamic.
"And then more globally we're talking about independence for our players, around them taking a lot of charge and ownership about how they want to play, how they want to prepare, becoming problem solvers and being able to fix things themselves.
"Obviously that's led by coaches, but we've shifted our dynamic in that space and it's been extremely powerful; we've found that little shift has built out a greater belief in our players individually and collectively."
The veterans
Jess Jonassen and 36-year-old former England rep Lauren Winfield-Hill have only returned to the Queensland setup in the past fortnight, after the pair spent much of the English summer with Yorkshire in the country's domestic one-day competition.
Both players topped 500 runs for the series but 33-year-old Jonassen in particular was in superb touch, scoring her maiden List A hundred before adding another two to finish as the competition's eighth-highest run scorer (558 at 39.85).
The left-arm orthodox spinner was also equal fourth on the wicket-takers list, taking 26, and picked up the MVP award for the competition and the domestic UK summer overall.
"I talk to her a lot," Sorell said. "With her batting, we've tried to unshackle her a little bit. We talk about the fact she's been banking for so long now – the hard work and the skills – and it's time to start making some withdrawals.
"She's got an ability to come in and nail key moments in a game, and that's where we feel she brings us great value. We all know what she does with the ball, and I honestly think her best batting is ahead of her."
Winfield-Hill meanwhile returns for a fourth season in maroon, having played a couple of match-winning innings last summer, with her rapid 55 from 33 balls in the decider underlining her effectiveness.
The pace stocks
With Hamilton set to be regularly unavailable with Australian duties, Queensland will again lean on the experience of Nicola Hancock, while allrounder Sianna Ginger – the team's leading wicket-taker last campaign, with 20 – has made notable improvements under the expert eye of pace bowling coach Andy Bichel.
"We're also really happy with the progress of some of our younger quicks in Lily Bassingthwaighte and Bonnie Berry," said Sorell. "And we've brought a younger contracted girl, Catherine White, from the Under 19s for her first year.
"There's a lot to like about the dynamic of those quicks with our current group."
Redmayne said Bassingthwaighte was a "standout in the T20 Max, as well as the (interstate one-day) practice games" after the 19-year-old ran through a well-credentialled Tasmania batting order with 5-9 from four overs.
"I'm really excited to see where she goes this season," Redmayne added. "And Catherine White is yet to debut but she's been taking a few of us aback with the pace she's been bowling with."
The unsung heroes
The Fire benefited from a couple of breakout seasons from Annie O'Neil (321 runs) and Lucy Bourke (276 runs) last season, and both players will again add depth to a squad likely to be shorn of talent to higher honours at different stages of the season.
"We really valued their contributions last year – it certainly didn't go under the radar with our group," Sorell said. "Lucy plays exactly the style of cricket we want to play collectively, but also for her at the top of the order moving forward. She's just a no-fear type of competitor, she's developing some off-spin as well, and she's electric in the field when she gets moving.
"And Annie O'Neil, it's 12 months since she lobbed into the Max (from South Australia) and played really well – it was a gift for us. We were looking for players that could bolster some of our younger players with other players away, in that 25-28 (age bracket) ... she turned up with an obvious skillset and an absolute 10 out of 10 team-first (attitude); she's made such a difference to us on and off the field."
The young gun
Queensland are tempering their excitement about 16-year-old leg-spinner Ayaka Kato-Stafford, who took 5-36 for Wests against Sandgate-Redcliffe in the opening round of Premier Cricket, then turned out in a T20 International for Japan – her 10th – against powerhouses India, taking 1-14 and making 25 off 57 opening the batting.
The school student is a rookie signing with the Fire this year and, perhaps depending on the fitness of Grace Parsons, could be a shot at turning out for Brisbane Heat in the Spring Challenge.
"I called before the (T20 Max) that Aya Stafford was going to be the leading wicket-taker and I was pleased to be proven right there," said her Wests teammate Redmayne. "She's so young, so she's still got a lot of development to go, but she's got a great attitude and she just loves the challenge.
"She's bowling at some pretty well-equipped batters out there and she's able to work it out at the time, and she always presents a challenge at the stumps or beating the bat, so I'm really excited to see where she goes."
Injury update
After returning with a bang in the second half of last summer, leg-spinner Grace Parsons is now working through some back and neck issues. The 23-year-old hasn't played any cricket since the WNCL final but is expected to be close to a return.
Hamilton and Wrigley are also being carefully managed after picking up niggles during their round two Premier Cricket matches last weekend.