Elyse Villani shifts her base to Hobart Hurricanes, pens two-year deal for upcoming WBBL seasons

In the recent development, it has been understood that Australia's Elyse Villani will now be seen in the purple jersey of Hobart Hurricanes for the upcoming WBBL seasons. The opener has signed a two-year deal with the franchise and replaces Rachel Priest as the skipper of the team.

Villani's move came on the backdrop of her contract expiry with Melbourne Stars, which was for three years.

The last WBBL edition saw the Melbourne-born in full flow, having a stellar run with the bat and ending the tournament as the fourth-highest run-getter. Villani scored 439 runs in WBBL07 at an average and strike-rate of 43.9 and 122.8, respectively.

In her WBBL career, the 32-year-old has played for Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars, amassing 2,849 runs in 99 matches.

As it is the time for a new chapter in her cricketing journey to open up, Villani had this to say: "Leaving my home state and essentially fully closing the door on that chapter of my life was truly a difficult decision to make. I have former so many wonderful memories and friendships that will last a lifetime and have enjoyed every moment representing the Stars and playing with some amazing people."

"However, the timing was right for me on a personal level – I love living in Tasmania, and I'm really excited to commit fully to my new home and represent the Hurricanes with pride," she added.

Further, Villani shared her vision for the Tasmanian Tigers and Hobart Hurricanes. 

"I thoroughly enjoyed leading a lot of these players last season in the WNCL, and to be given the opportunity to do the same in purple is a huge honour – I believe we have the squad and coaching staff required to compete for the trophy and have a lot of fun along the way."