Five Aussies to appear in Super League

Rachael Haynes, Elyse Villani, Beth Mooney, Nicole Bolton and Delissa Kimmince are set to feature in England’s women’s Super League beginning this month.

The Australian quintet will be split between three different clubs for the third season of the domestic 20-over competition, with both Mooney and Kimmince to play for Yorkshire Diamonds, Haynes and Villani for Loughborough Lightning and Bolton for Lancashire Thunder.

It’s the first time Australian vice-captain Haynes, opening batter Bolton and allrounder Kimmince will feature in the English tournament, which sees six teams go head-to-head across the space of one month.

Bolton will be playing under recently retired Australia legend Alex Blackwell at Lancashire – with the former vice-captain taking on her first head coaching role – and the Western Australian is thrilled at the prospect of working with her ex-teammate.

"That’s really exciting," Bolton told cricket.com.au. "It’s nice to have a familiar face and she is such a breath of fresh air so I can’t wait to work with her.

"I’ve been having a little bit of fun in the nets and developing a few new shots.

"I won’t give too much away but fingers crossed I’ll be able to whip them out in the UK and then bring them back across to the Aussie summer."

For Mooney, her return to Yorkshire after missing last season due to a shoulder concern is a welcome excuse to switch the slog of pre-season training for some time in the middle.

"The Super League has come at a good time, it’s the middle of pre-season which gets to be a bit of a grind at this time of year," Mooney told cricket.com.au.

"I’m looking forward to getting over there and joining up with DK (Kimmince) and hopefully scoring some runs and helping Yorkshire take out the title."

The five Australians will be joined by a long list of other internationals for the 2018 edition of the Super League. Five White Ferns will feature – Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine, Amy Satterthwaite, Rachel Priest and Amelia Kerr – alongside four South Africans in Marizanne Kapp, Dane van Niekerk, Lizelle Lee and Mignon du Preez.

Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandana will be the first Indian players to take part in the league, with Stafanie Taylor the sole West Indian, while Sri Lanka’s Chamari Attapattu will again play for Yorkshire.

Meanwhile, Australians Ellyse Perry, Elyse Villani and Jess Jonassen, who all played in the 2017 edition, won’t be returning to the competition this summer and will instead focus on preparing at home for what will be a demanding 14-month schedule for Australia’s elite cricketers.

First on the agenda is a three-match home Commonwealth Bank T20I series against New Zealand beginning September 29, before an away series against Pakistan in October.

The World T20 in the Caribbean will follow in November, with the players returning home immediately after for Rebel WBBL}04.

A hectic 2019 will feature away series against West Indies and England and home matches against Sri Lanka, all leading into the 2020 World T20, the first to be played on Australian soil.

Super League overseas players

Lancashire Thunder: Nicole Bolton (Australia), Harmanpreet Kaur (India), Amy Satterthwaite (NZ)

Loughborough Lightning: Rachael Haynes, Elyse Villani (both Australia), Sophie Devine (NZ)

Southern Vipers: Suzie Bates, Amelia Kerr (both NZ), Mignon du Preez (SA)

Surrey Stars: Marizanne Kapp, Lizelle Lee, Dane van Niekerk (all SA)

Western Storm: Smriti Mandhana (India), Rachel Priest (NZ), Stafanie Taylor (WI)

Yorkshire Diamonds: Beth Mooney, Delissa Kimmince (both Australia), Chamari Atapattu (SL)