Lauren Smith and Ruth Johnston have both re-signed with the Hobart Hurricanes, adding more depth to the defending champions ahead of WBBL|12.
Smith is heading into her third season in purple after joining the club before WBBL|10, following nine seasons in Sydney.
The off-spinner played all 11 matches during the Hurricanes’ title-winning WBBL|11 campaign.
The 29-year-old took seven wickets and was hard to score off, finishing with the best economy rate of any Hurricanes bowler at just 6.4 runs an over.
That was also the third best mark in the competition.
“I have absolutely loved my time with the Hurricanes since I’ve come down, I was having a long hard think if I wanted to explore other places, but our coaching staff down here and the club and the people and the organisation is really hard to say no to,” Smith said.
“We’ve kept some of the core group together and I absolutely love some of the girls that we play with down here and we do have Kristen Beams on as our bowling coach, who I’ve got to work with this preseason and I absolutely love picking at her and her ideas.”
“We have lots of depth within our squad with spin definitely and I think that’s going to work for us this season and hopefully, we can get that trophy again.”
Johnston made her WBBL debut for the Hurricanes in 2021 as a teenager and has since played 42 matches.
The Queensland product is just 23 and offers options with both bat and ball.
“We have such a great team and the environment and just the experience that all of our players have, it’s pretty exciting to be involved in,” Johnston said.
“I feel like I can be quite flexible with whatever role that’s handed my way. I’ve had experience in opening and in the middle order, but I’m just happy to be out there and hitting the ball hard and doing my thing.”
The Hurricanes have retained most of their core group as they build towards their title defence.
