English all-rounder Georgia Adams, 30, is in line to make her debut for the NSW Women’s Team after she was named in a 14-player squad for the Breakers’ first WNCL matches following Weber WBBL|09.
English veteran ripe for Breakers debut
The Breakers will take on Victoria on Tuesday and Thursday next week at CitiPower Centre (Junction Oval) in Melbourne. Both fixtures begin at 10am and will be broadcast on cricket.com.au and Kayo.
Adams, who has represented England A and is the daughter of former English Test and ODI player Chris Adams, was part of the title-winning Adelaide Strikers squad in this year’s WBBL.
That WBBL triumph followed an incredibly successful season in English domestic cricket where Adams captained the Southern Vipers to the domestic double, winning the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Charlotte Edwards Cup, as well as taking out The Hundred with Southern Brave.
She was also the second-highest run-scorer and fourth-highest wicket-taker in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, the third-highest run-scorer in the Charlotte Edwards Cup, and the leading wicket-taker in The Hundred.
Cricket NSW’s Head of Female Elite Cricket, Leah Poulton, said Adams brought an enormous amount of experience to the Breakers.
“Georgia is an accomplished top order bat and right-arm off-spinner who has played at a high level domestically in England for more than a decade,” Poulton said.
“We are excited to see the impact she can have both on and off the field as a leader amongst our group and considering she has made a major contribution to winning four titles already in 2023, we know she is playing some really good cricket.”
Prodigious teenage wicketkeeper/batter Kate Pelle is the other player in the squad yet to play for the Breakers. Pelle, who impressed in her debut WBBL season for the Sydney Sixers where she replaced injured Australian captain Alyssa Healy, is currently representing NSW Metro at the U19 National Championships
Healy leads a host of players unavailable for selection due to national team duties, including Ash Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield and Lauren Cheatle. Hannah Darlington was not considered as she manages a lower back injury.
Sammy Jo-Johnson will lead the side in Healy’s absence, with the Breakers sitting in fifth spot in the standings following a win and a loss from their only two matches in the tournament thus far. All other teams have played at least four matches, with the Victorians yet to win in their four.
NSW Breakers squad to play Victoria on December 19 and 21 at CitiPower Centre, Melbourne: Georgia Adams, Jade Allen, Maitlan Brown, Erin Burns, Stella Campbell, Sarah Coyte, Saskia Horley, Ebony Hoskin, Sammy Jo Johnson ©, Anika Learoyd, Isabella Malgioglio, Claire Moore, Kate Pelle, Tahlia Wilson