Heather Graham will captain the winless Hobart Hurricanes against Brisbane Heat tonight, with skipper Nicola Carey staying in Hobart after the birth of her first child.
The defending champions are chasing their first win of WBBL12 after losing their first three matches of the season.
Carey and her partner, former Hurricanes captain Elyse Villani, have welcomed their first child.
Villani led the club to its first championship last season before retiring.
Carey, who had been her vice-captain, was named to replace her before this season, with Graham appointed vice-captain.
Graham, 30, led the side during this year’s Spring Challenge and played her 150th WBBL match in the season opener.
She has captained the Hurricanes once before in the WBBL. That was in October 2023, when she stood in for an unwell Villani against Perth Scorchers.
Young seamer Ira Aery and all-rounder Ella Hayward have been added to a 14-player squad to cover Carey’s absence.
All-rounder Lauren Smith is set to make her 150th WBBL appearance in the match.
She will be the third Hurricane to reach the milestone this season, after Carey and Graham.
When she was named captain, Carey said taking over from Villani was “a huge honour”.
“Big shoes to fill obviously, with Elyse leaving us at the end of last season but I’m incredibly honoured to be given the job,” she said.
Carey also said last season’s title would give the side no head start this season.
“Last season was last season,” she said. “It was amazing and we really enjoyed that. But we come into this competition and everyone starts on zero points again.”
The Hurricanes squad is Graham (captain), Aery, Chamari Athapaththu, Maddy Green, Hayward, Chinelle Henry, Ruth Johnston, Lizelle Lee, Isa Malgioglio, Kate Pelle, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Smith, Molly Strano and Rachel Trenaman.
Hobart Hurricanes vs Brisbane Heat is tonight at Allan Border Field, Brisbane.
