WBBL: Adelaide Strikers sign South African batter Laura Wolvaardt

Adelaide [Australia], Aug 6 : Adelaide Strikers on Thursday signed South African star batter Laura Wolvaardt for the upcoming season of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL).
Wolvaardt represented Proteas in this year's Women's T20 World Cup and was selected in the ICC Team of the Tournament for her scores of 53* and 41*.
The right-hander almost took the game away from eventual champions Australia, with a blistering unbeaten 41 off just 26 balls in the rain-affected semi-final.
Wolvaardt can't wait to get started with the Strikers.
"I am so excited to be joining the Strikers. They are an amazing cricket team and almost went all the way to win the tournament last year," she said in a statement.
"I have been lucky enough to play at both the Adelaide Oval and the Karen Rolton Oval, and both are such beautiful cricket grounds and the city is wonderful too. I spent some time in Adelaide earlier this year for the World Cup. I am really excited to meet the team and to make some good memories on and off the field this year," she added.
The 21-year-old was named the 2019-20 South African cricketer of the year for her excellent World Cup campaign and for her consistent run in ODIs.
In the one-day format, Wolvaardt usually opens and she has a total of 1,871 runs at an average of 45.63, including two centuries and 16 fifties.
Strikers head coach Luke Williams is looking forward to the attributes Wolvaardt is set to bring to the team.
"We're extremely pleased to have secured the signing of Laura who we think is an exceptional young talent and will fit into our group nicely," he said.
"We were very impressed by her standout performances on the biggest stage of them all, the T20 World Cup, and we're excited for what she will bring to the Strikers batting order, and her versatility in that order," Williams added.