Winfield’s excited to be in purple

HAVING spent the first two editions of the WBBL with the Brisbane Heat, Lauren Winfield could see from the outside the closeness of the Hobart squad.

So when the English international was offered a contract with the Hurricanes for the 2017-18 campaign, she didn’t hesitate to sign.

The World Cup winning opener replaces her national captain Heather Knight in purple, who was unable to return for a third campaign as she recovers from injury.

Winfield is desperate to grasp the opportunity with both hands and despite only joining her new teammates yesterday, already feels at home.

“I have played with the Brisbane Heat the last two years and [Hobart] was always a team that when I have played against them, they seem like a really tight group and have a fantastic program led by ‘Pricey’ [coach Julia Price],” Winfield said.

“It was definitely something I wanted to be involved in and when I was asked to play for them I didn’t think twice.

“Obviously I play under Heather Knight with England and I think she put in a bit of a word to get me here. I’m hugely excited about the opportunity to play for the Hurricanes.

“Having played against them last year and being in the dressing room and seeing the way they do things, even the little things like having names on their lockers . . . it is little things like that that don’t go on at other clubs.

“It makes you feel like you are part of something special.”

The Hurricanes will take a different look into WBBL|03, with Winfield and Indian star Veda Krishnamurthy joining West Indian Hayley Matthews, who is the only returning import.

Former Melbourne Renegade Nicola Hancock and Sydney Thunder player Stefanie Daffara, who joined the Roar this summer, round out the new faces.

After featuring in the three Ashes ODIs and one Twenty20 match against Australia, Winfield is itching to perform for Hobart, who open the campaign against the Adelaide Strikers on Saturday.

“There is a huge buzz about the place and I am really excited to hit the ground running and get into the comp.

“I am really excited to be coming into a new group and hopefully we can have a lot of success.”