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- The Women's Big Bash League is set to get under way.
- 6 South Africans will participate in this year's T20 tournament.
- News24 Sport looks at the Proteas contingent ahead of the eighth WBBL season.
The Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) is set to feature a star-studded Proteas line-up as six South Africans signed up for the T20 tournament.
This year's WBBL will feature 59 matches, with the action scheduled to get under way on Thursday, 13 October, with the opening clash between the Brisbane Heat and Sydney Sixers.
The regular season will conclude on 20 November, with a week of finals to follow.
News24 Sport takes a closer look at the South African players involved in the 2022/23 Women's Big Bash League:
Laura Wolvaardt - Adelaide Strikers
While the Proteas Women had an indifferent showing in England, Wolvaardt was one of the star performers with the bat.
Wolvaardt scored 188 runs in nine T20 matches this year, which included a half-century against England in Chelmsford in July.
The Proteas batter finished as the leading run-scorer in last month's The Hundred, scoring 286 runs for the Northern Superchargers.
This WBBL season, Wolvaardt will return for the Adelaide Strikers after a decent 2021/22 season, which saw her score 381 runs in 17 games.
The Strikers finished runners-up to the Perth Scorchers in last year's WBBL final and are chasing their maiden title.
Marizanne Kapp - Perth Scorchers
Kapp was the star performer at last year's WBBL as she steered the Perth Scorchers to victory against the Strikers.
The Proteas all-rounder delivered a player-of-the-match performance with both bat and ball as the Scorchers lifted their first WBBL title.
This year, Kapp has been the standout performer for the Proteas Women, although it's come from the longer formats of the game.
Kapp, who was named ICC Player of the Month in June, has not played a single T20 for the Proteas this season after being rested and out injured for T20 duty.
Kapp was also part of the Oval Invincibles' squad that defended The Hundred title.
Mignon du Preez - Hobart Hurricanes
Du Preez starred with the bat for South Africa at last year's WBBL as she scored 414 runs in 14 games, scoring four half-centuries for the Hurricanes.
In April, the Proteas middle-order batter opted to retire from ODI and Test cricket to concentrate on the shorter format of the game.
Du Preez returned for the Proteas in England for the T20 series against England and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham but couldn't quite get going in the middle.
At The Hundred, Du Preez only managed 67 runs in seven games for the Trent Rockets.
Du Preez will hope to turn her form around at the WBBL as spots for next year's T20 Women's World Cup in South Africa are still up for grabs.
Lizelle Lee - Hobart Hurricanes
Lee will make her fourth WBBL appearance, having previously played for the Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades. However, this time around, the former Proteas batter will ply her trade for the Hobart Hurricanes.
Earlier this year, Lee made headlines when she announced her retirement from international cricket mid-tour in England.
The 30-year-old top-order batter was badly missed as the SA women were winless in their multi-format tour and fell out of the group stages of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Since her retirement, Lee has already made her mark as a T20 specialist batter, scoring 169 runs in six games for the Manchester Originals in The Hundred.
Shabnim Ismail - Melbourne Renegades
Ismail hasn't been in the form that usually befits the Proteas speedster.
The Proteas' fast bowler only managed five wickets in seven T20s at a bowling average 32.60.
Ismail was also part of Oval Invincibles' squad that defended The Hundred title as she took five wickets in the campaign.
At this year's WBBL, Ismail will don red for the Melbourne Renegades after representing the two-time-winning Sydney Thunder.
Chloe Tryon - Sydney Thunder
Tryon has had a decent season for the Proteas, scoring 105 runs and capturing four wickets in nine T20Is.
The all-rounder also went on to star in the inaugural Women's Caribbean Premier League for the Barbados Royals Women.
Tryon finished as the third-highest run-scorer - scoring 65 runs and taking a wicket in three T20s - as the Royals finished runner-up in the CPL.
For the current WBBL season, Tryon joined the two-time title-winning Thunder after playing for the Hurricanes for over two seasons.
