Thunder land England international for WBBL season

England wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones is returning to the Weber WBBL, after signing on with Sydney Thunder for the upcoming season.

Jones, who previously played for Perth Scorchers from WBBL|04-06, and Sydney Sixers from WBBL|02-03, rounds out the Thunder's trio of overseas players, joining countrywoman Tammy Beaumont and South Africa's Chloe Tryon.

The 29-year-old recently stood in as England captain in place of the injured Heather Knight in their ODI and T20I series against India and will strengthen a Thunder top-order already containing Beaumont, Rachael Haynes, Phoebe Litchfield and Tahlia Wilson.

However Thunder coach Trevor Griffin said he expected Wilson to retain the wicketkeeping gloves for a third consecutive season, with Jones to provide back-up.

"I've had a year or two out of the league, so it will be great to be a part of the competition again," Jones said.

"I played alongside Rachael (Haynes) at Loughborough Lightning in 2018, and she was an excellent leader.

"And while I'm looking forward to that I also realise there's loads of exciting talent there ... Thunder seems to have a tremendous blend of experience and youth.

"What I've heard from (England teammates) Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont is the club has a bunch of really cool people ... they speak very highly of the group and the club, and I can't wait to be a part of that."

The Thunder have one local player spot left to confirm on their WBBL|08 list.

Jones' signing completes this season's contingent of overseas players, although some replacement internationals are expected to be confirmed in the coming days, to cover Indians Harmanpreet Kaur (Renegades), Jemimah Rodrigues (Stars) and Pooja Vastrakar (Heat) who will miss the first few games of the season while playing for their country at the Asia Cup.

The Hobart Hurricanes yesterday announced New Zealander Hayley Jensen had joined the club to replace gun England quick Issy Wong, who has been ruled out for the tournament with a back injury. Wong is understood to have withdrawn from the tournament as a precautionary measure after a hectic summer playing in England.

As per previous seasons, each club was permitted a maximum of five 'marquee players'; a marquee is either a player from overseas, or a local who holds a Cricket Australia contract for 2022-23.

The five marquees must be a mix of overseas and CA contracted players, with a maximum of three of each type.

This means the Sydney Sixers and Adelaide Strikers, who each have three CA contracted players on their list, only have two spots available for overseas players, while the remaining six clubs have three overseas places.

Sydney Thunder WBBL|08 squad so far: Rachael Haynes (CA contracted), Tammy Beaumont (Eng), Chloe Tryon (SA), Amy Jones (Eng), Samantha Bates, Hannah Darlington, Jess Davidson, Corinne Hall, Rachael Haynes (c), Sammy-Jo Johnson, Anika Learoyd, Phoebe Litchfield, Olivia Porter, Lauren Smith, Tahlia Wilson

Overseas players in WBBL|08

Adelaide Strikers: Laura Wolvaardt (SA), Deandra Dottin (WI)

Brisbane Heat: Amelia Kerr (NZ), Pooja Vastrakar (Ind), Danni Wyatt (Eng)

Hobart Hurricanes: Mignon du Preez, Lizelle Lee (both SA), Hayley Jensen (NZ)

Melbourne Renegades: Harmanpreet Kaur (Ind), Hayley Matthews (WI), Shabnim Ismail (SA)

Melbourne Stars: Alice Capsey, Lauren Winfield-Hill (both Eng), Jemimah Rodrigues (Ind)

Perth Scorchers: Sophie Devine, Maddy Green (both NZ), Marizanne Kapp (SA)

Sydney Sixers: Suzie Bates (NZ), Sophie Ecclestone (Eng)

Sydney Thunder: Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones (both Eng), Chloe Tryon (SA)

Tickets for Weber WBBL and KFC BBL games are on sale now. Get yours at cricket.com.au/big-bash