In WBBL|12, the Heat are returning to the approach that saw them make seven consecutive finals series
Back to basics as Heat look to snap winless streak
Brisbane Heat are wiping the slate clean as they look to put a horror 2025 WBBL campaign behind them.
The Heat have backed in their local talent for Weber WBBL|12, leaning into a mix of experience and youth with just two overseas players on the books.
They have a new skipper in Georgia Redmayne, who is confident the club can put a winless WBBL|11 behind them.
"The big thing for us was trying to maintain that core Queensland group of local players," Redmayne told cricket.com.au. "I think when we've been successful in the past, we've had a lot of success around basing our squad around that core group who are around for WNCL and trying to complement that with the overseas players.
"I think we've gone back to that pretty well this year, and the overseas players that we've got with Orla Prendergast and Sarah Glenn will slot in really well, fill some holes and be really key contributors for us."
While the Heat were winless in WBBL|11, a very similar group of players bounced back to win the 50-over Women's National Cricket League title for Queensland mere months later.
And Redmayne insisted that turnaround will give the squad confidence heading into the season.
"I don't remember last year's WBBL at all. It's kind of fallen from my memory," she continued.
"So hopefully we start afresh and if we aim just to try to get a win early, and then try to win another game, and then try to win another game, and keep it one game at a time.
"It allows a bit of a fresh start, and I think we can take some confidence that we're still a winning team, we've shown that we've had success in that 50-over format, and we just need to translate that into the shorter format now."
WBBL|12 club previews
The Heat struggled in every facet in WBBL|11, with a mixture of injuries and form issues hampering their season.
Australia star and opening bat Grace Harris played just four matches, while their leading run scorer was South African Nadine de Klerk, who scored 158 runs – putting her 27th in the league – at an average of 22.57 and a strike-rate of 147.66.
Their next highest run-scorer was new captain Redmayne, the former opener who was shuffled everywhere from No.4 to No.8 in the order, and aside from de Klerk, no recognised batter struck at higher than 125.
With the ball, Lucy Hamilton took eight wickets – putting her 23rd in the league – while their next highest contributor was England leggie Glenn, who took six wickets in just two matches.
There's been a bit of change to the Heat ranks, with India star Jemi Rodrigues unavailable as she recovers from injury, while Windies allrounder Chinelle Henry has moved to the Hurricanes and Protea de Klerk is not returning. Of the locals, experienced pace bowler Nicola Hancock has moved to the Thunder.
Last season
Result: Eighth, (0 wins, 9 losses, 1 no result)
Most runs: Nadine de Klerk (158 runs at average of 22.57 and an SR of 147.66)
Most wickets: Lucy Hamilton (8 wickets, ave 30.5, econ 7.39)
WBBL|12 squad
Lily Bassingthwaighte, Bonnie Berry, Lucinda Bourke, Sianna Ginger, Sarah Glenn (England), Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Jess Jonassen, Charli Knott, Annie O'Neil, Grace Parsons, Orla Prendergast (Ireland), Georgia Redmayne, Mikayla Wrigley.
Ins: Orla Prendergast (Ireland)
Outs: Chinelle Henry (Hurricanes), Jemimah Rodrigues (India), Nicola Hancock (Thunder), Nadine de Klerk, Lauren Winfield-Hill (England)
Internationals: Sarah Glenn (England), Orla Prendergast (Ireland)
Head coach: Mark Sorell
Season schedule
Possible best XI
Grace Harris, Annie O'Neil, Jess Jonassen, Charli Knott, Georgia Redmayne (c) (wk), Orla Prendergast, Sianna Ginger, Sarah Glenn, Lucy Hamilton, Lily Bassingthwaighte, Grace Parsons
Player availability
England and Ireland have no international engagements in December, meaning their players are available for the entire season.
Overseas recruits
Sarah Glenn (England): The England leg-spinner has returned to the club for a third season. The 27-year-old played two matches for Brisbane last season after coming in as a replacement for South African de Klerk and was a rare shining light in a winless campaign cruelled by injuries and absences. In those two appearances, Glenn took six wickets at 10.66, finishing as the Heat's second-highest wicket taker. She previously played for Brisbane in WBBL|09, taking six wickets in five matches, and will be available for the entire season.
Orla Prendergast (Ireland): The Irish rising star is returning to the Big Bash for the first time since 2024. Prendergast, a right-arm quick and talented top-order batter, had a previous stint with the Adelaide Strikers in WBBL|10, where she scored 110 runs and claimed six wickets across nine matches. Since then, the 24-year-old has further developed her game to become one of Ireland's leading players.
Inside word with Heat captain Georgia Redmayne
Taking over the captaincy, position in the batting order
Redmayne has taken over from Jess Jonassen as Heat captain for the upcoming season. The wicketkeeper-batter, who led Queensland Fire to their second WNCL title after Jonassen stepped down from her captaincy roles in March, was confirmed as the club's new leader in September.
"It's a huge honour and definitely not something that you say no to," Redmayne said. "But I definitely acknowledge that it's going to be a big challenge; I think whenever you lead a team, it's always a challenge, and especially 'keeping as well, it can make you very busy at times, but it's something I'm really excited to do."
Interest remains over her position in the batting order, after a rollercoaster WBBL|11. Redmayne, who had consistently opened for the Heat during her time with the club, was shuffled up and down the batting order last summer, starting the season at No.4, then dropping as low at No.8 before eventually returning to the top four.
"It's a very good question," she said of her position in the order. "Last year I batted in many places in the batting order. But I don't really care where I bat if we're winning games, it's finding that right spot where we can get the most out of our whole order. So whether that's at the top, I don't mind, whether that's at number 11 and we're winning games, I don't mind that either. But it'll be somewhere in the middle ... I tend to think from there I can be pretty flexible and happy to bat anywhere."
Who will open the batting?
The Heat are blessed with batting talent, but struggled to work out their ideal combination at the top of the order last season after pushing Redmayne down the order. Harris remained consistent up top when fit but only played four matches and in all, the Heat tried five different opening combinations across nine matches, with Charli Knott opening on eight occasions, and de Klerk, Lauren Winfield-Hill and Lucy Bourke twice apiece.
"I wouldn't say that we're completely settled yet," Redmayne added. "They probably just need to work out a few more parts. Hopefully going into game one, we'll be pretty confident with what we put out."
Leaning into young local talent
A tweak to the contracting rules this season means clubs have the freedom to sign fewer than three overseas players, with the Heat the only club to have so far taken up this option. They have re-signed Glenn and recruited Prendergast, but are looking to lean on their significant depth of local talent, although Redmayne left the door open to adding a third international if injuries or availability required.
"The way we approached it was, we didn't want to base the team around overseas players, and I think in the past that's been a successful formula for us," she explained. "Basing it around our local players and then seeing which gaps need to be filled and then filling them with the right international, which is potentially something that we went away from last year. If there's a space that comes up that needs to be filled, we haven't ruled out getting a third. But it's more of the position of (asking) what role do we need, and who's the best person to fill that spot, whether that's an overseas player or a local player."
The rise of Lucy Hamilton
Since WBBL|11, left-arm quick Hamilton has enjoyed a meteoric rise. She debuted across all three international formats in the space of a month earlier this year, then helped Australia win the T20 World Cup at Lord's in July. Hamilton will again lead the Heat pace attack in WBBL|12, after finishing as the club's leading wicket taker last season.
"How many people can say they've debuted in three formats within like a month, right?" Redmayne said. "Most people dream of that for a whole career, so it's pretty exciting. Her rise last year, it's not something that surprised any of us – we all knew she was going to play for Australia at some point. I'm really happy for her, and hopefully she can come back and be that leader of the attack now for the Heat."