Brisbane Heat sign Chinese cricket star Yingying Li for second season of Women’s BBL
SHANE Warne led cricket’s bold strides into America but the Brisbane Heat is hoping female cricketer Yingying Li can help them push into China.
Cricket has for years been excited about the potential of the lucrative American market, with Warne and Sachin Tendulkar staging promotional T20 games there.
But the untapped market of China and its 1.4 billion people is also extremely appetising.
If the Brisbane Heat have all their ducks fall into line, they could find themselves appealing to a vast section of the world’s population.
Fresh from signing Indian batting prodigy Smriti Mandhana to play in the second season of the Women’s Big Bash League, the WBBL Heat announced that Chinese national player Yingying Li will join the squad next month as a rookie.
A right-arm off-spin bowler, Li will train with the squad through December and January as part of a joint initiative between Cricket Australia and the International Cricket Council to provide opportunities for players from non-traditional cricket countries.
The 25-year-old is one of eight international players who will link with WBBL teams, with other players hailing from Hong Kong, Ireland, Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Nepal.
Li, who claimed 5-12 in a recent ICC Women’s Championship game against Nepal, is one of several thousand Chinese women who play “ban qiu”, which roughly translates to “bat-ball”.
Heat women’s coach Andy Richards said he was looking forward to introducing the Heat players to Li and helping her improve her skills.
“We’re already excited about Smriti coming in from India and Deandra Dottin joining us from the West Indies, so having Li along will add a bit more spice to our summer.”
Head of the Big Bash, Anthony Everard, said he was delighted with the initiative.
“The inaugural season of the WBBL was a great success last summer and through this initiative, players from non-traditional cricket countries were able to be a part of that,” he said.
“Last year’s rookies had a really positive impact on both their clubs and local communities.”
