NZ World Cup hero Halliday gets Scorchers call-up

Brooke Halliday hopes the White Ferns’ T20 World Cup win will open the door for more New Zealand players to feature in global franchise leagues, as she prepares to make her Weber WBBL debut with Perth Scorchers.

Halliday, who played a key role in helping New Zealand win their first T20I ICC trophy in Dubai last month, has signed on to replace Amy Jones for their final three games of the regular season, after the England star departs for a tour of South Africa.

It will be the 29-year-old’s first appearance in the WBBL – or in any of the major global franchise leagues for that matter.

"I got the call last Wednesday, so I had a little bit of warning, which has been quite nice ... it was unexpected in a way, but I'm really excited," Halliday told cricket.com.au following her arrival in Melbourne.

"I'm quite fortunate that I get five or six days with the group beforehand, which is quite good when Sophie Devine's the only person I know (in the team).

"I think the WACA will be pretty cool to play at and then team-wise, (I'm looking forward to) playing the Sixers, just because they're such a stacked team.

"From an experience point of view, I think that's going to be a really cool challenge, which I'm looking forward to."

Halliday, who has played 41 T20Is since her debut in 2021, showed her worth as left-handed middle-order hitter during the World Cup final when she snatched back momentum from South Africa with her 28-ball 38 batting at No.5.

She also had a knack for picking up wickets as a part-time bowler with her medium pace, including the wicket of Sune Luus in the final, while she dismissed Phoebe Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland in the group game against Australia.

New Zealand had to travel to India immediately after their T20 World Cup triumph for a three-game ODI series – where Halliday hit a career-best 86 – but were given a warm welcome when they finally did return home, spending the last week showing off their silverware on a trophy tour around the country.

"I think because we went straight to India after the World Cup, while we got told from people back home how much the country was really loving our success, in India, we didn't really feel it too much, other than the messages from home," Halliday said.

"Ever since we landed back in Christchurch and the reception we got there ... then that led into the trophy tour, starting down Dunedin and coming up to Auckland.

"Seeing a whole range of different people, new fans, old fans, and just people that have been a part of our cricketing journeys - people that I haven't seen in years - showing up and coming to see us and congratulating us has been really cool."

The WBBL has historically been stocked with New Zealanders, with 7-8 featuring through each of the first five seasons and a peak of 11 during the COVID-hub 2020 tournament.

But those numbers have tapered off somewhat the last couple of years, with South Africans, Indian and English players dominating, and with the White Ferns undergoing a period of on-field change which was reflected in a difficult 18 months of results leading up to their World Cup victory.

No Kiwis were picked up in the overseas draft this season – although regular faces in Amelia Kerr and Sophie Devine were signed on multi-year deals and Suzie Bates was also picked up as a replacement player.

But global success could open further doors for the likes of Halliday, spinner Eden Carson and opener Georgia Plimmer - and more - in leagues like the WBBL, The Hundred and the WPL.

"Hopefully (it will), I think the more players that we have in those franchises around the world, the more experience and learning that us New Zealanders can take out of that and bring back into our own competitions and also at international level," Halliday said.

"I guess we'll find out in the next 12 months what the effects of winning the World Cup will be for us."

Halliday arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday to link up with her new teammates ahead of their match against Sydney Thunder at the MCG later this week.

She will need to wait until their following game to make a debut, with Jones to play her final game of the season at the iconic ground.

But the additional couple of days will give her a chance to familiarise herself with her new teammates, and to dush off any rust after a 10-day lay-off following New Zealand’s triumphant return home.

"I've hardly hit a ball in the last 10 days, so there's going to be a lot of trust in what I've been doing the last few months," Halliday said.

"But I think from the World Cup to India, I feel like where I'm at batting-wise has been really good, and it's just trusting what I have been practicing over the last 12 months and implementing it into the game and the Scorchers side."

Team	Matches played M	Wins W	Losses L	Ties T	No results N/R	Net Run Rate NRR	Deductions Ded.	Total points PTS
1 Hobart Hurricanes Women HUR	7	4	3	0	0	0.572	0	8
2 Sydney Thunder Women THU	6	4	2	0	0	0.248	0	8
3 Perth Scorchers Women SCO	6	4	2	0	0	0.205	0	8
4 Melbourne Renegades Women REN	7	4	3	0	0	0.171	0	8
5 Brisbane Heat Women HEA	7	4	3	0	0	0.084	0	8
6 Sydney Sixers Women SIX	7	3	4	0	0	-0.425	0	6
7 Melbourne Stars Women STA	5	2	3	0	0	0.191	0	4
8 Adelaide Strikers Women STR	7	1	6	0	0	-0.968	0	2

Legend

M: Matches played

W: Wins

L: Losses

T: Ties

N/R: No results

NRR: Net Run Rate

Ded.: Deductions

PTS: Total points