Hurricanes poach Scorchers star, Strano extends contract

Internationally capped allrounder Heather Graham has followed her state allegiance south in the WBBL, swapping the championship-winning Perth Scorchers for the Hobart Hurricanes.

Graham, who was a travelling reserve during Australia's recent ODI World Cup triumph in New Zealand, has signed a two-year deal with the Hurricanes ahead of next summer's Weber WBBL|08.

The 26-year-old fast bowling allrounder, who made her sole appearance for Australia in an ODI match against Sri Lanka in 2019, had played with the Scorchers since the competition's inception in 2015, which included last year's victorious final against Adelaide Strikers where she made 23 and took 2-30.

The right-hander joins the Hurricanes after moving to Tasmania in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) in 2020.

The Hurricanes also announced seven-time T20 international and the WBBL's all-time leading wicket-taker with 119, Molly Strano, has signed a one-year contract extension that will keep her at the club until at least the end of WBBL|09.

Following the loss of star quick Tayla Vlaeminck who signed with Melbourne Renegades last week, cricket.com.au understands former Australia batter Elyse Villani, who lives in Tasmania and plays with the Tigers in the WNCL, is also set to leave Melbourne Stars and sign with the Hurricanes for WBBL|08.

Villani starred for the Stars last summer, ending the competition as the fourth-highest runs scorer with 439 at 43.9, while she also made an unbeaten 111 not out as Tasmania claimed their maiden WNCL title in March.

The 32-year-old recently represented the Sapphires in the inaugural FairBreak Invitational T20 tournament last month, smashing 164 runs at a strike rate of 122 in five matches.

Graham also enjoyed a stellar WBBL last summer, collecting the fourth-most wickets with 18, while also notching up 100 career matches in the final.

Normally batting in the middle-order, Graham also has 1026 runs at a strike rate of 98 across her seven-year WBBL career and is the competition's fifth most prolific wicket-taker with 102.

Graham said it was a hard decision to leave the Scorchers, especially given their success last season.

"Being a part of the Tigers program in Hobart year-round and knowing the kind of program Sall (Sallinann Beams, Hurricanes head coach) and Dan (Marsh, Hurricanes assistant coach) and the team have built there, the opportunity to be a part of that from a Hurricanes perspective as well was just too good to pass up," she said.

"The Tigers had an incredible year in the WNCL last season and knowing the group of players we currently have as well as some of the new signings that are coming, I think we can translate that success to the T20 form of the game really soon."

The Hurricanes missed the finals last season, finishing sixth with five wins from their 14 matches.

Former Tasmania wicketkeeper Emily Smith, whose contract wasn't renewed last month, was also announced as Collingwood AFLW's new rookie signing on Monday after 51 WBBL and 26 WNCL appearances across six seasons.

Hobart Hurricanes WBBL|08 sqaud so far: Nicola Carey, Maisy Gibson, Heather Graham, Amy Smith, Molly Strano, Rachel Trenaman