Nicola Carey, 33, has been appointed captain of Hobart Hurricanes for the upcoming Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL|12) season as the defending champions prepare to begin their title defence following Elyse Villani’s retirement.
Carey, the club’s most-capped women’s player, will take over the leadership responsibilities after serving as Villani’s deputy.
She has been a key member of the Hurricanes since joining them from Sydney Thunder in 2019. She has featured in 88 WBBL matches for the Hobart-based side and played a crucial role in their historic maiden title triumph last season, as per
Carey struck the winning runs against Perth Scorchers in the final last year, helping the Hurricanes lift their first women’s Big Bash trophy. She will now attempt to guide the team to consecutive championships, something the club has never achieved in either its men’s or women’s competition.
“It’s a huge honour (and) big shoes to fill obviously with Elyse (Villani) leaving us at the end of last season, but I’m incredibly honoured to be given the job,” Carey said in a statement, according to Hobart Hurricanes.
“Hopefully I can do half as good a job as Elyse did. Having been vice-captain, I’ve been to a lot of the meetings and seen how Elyse has gone about it, which has been hugely beneficial,” she continued.
“We’re very different people though, so I feel like I’ll do it my way, but I don’t think that’ll change too much from how I go about things day to day within the group,” she mentioned.
Carey has established herself as one of the ‘ most consistent performers in the women’s Big Bash competition. With 85 wickets, she holds the record for the most wickets taken by a Hurricanes player in the WBBL.
She is also the franchise’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament’s history, having accumulated 1,362 runs. South African batter Lizelle Lee leads the list with 1,409 runs.
Carey will have Heather Graham as her deputy for WBBL|12. Graham, a member of the championship-winning squad, has been named vice-captain despite having limited experience in the leadership role.
The new captain will also have an experienced group of players around her as the Hurricanes look to defend their title.
“We come into this competition and everyone starts on zero points again,” Carey said.
“It’s a bit of a different looking side, and other groups are different around the competition as well. I want the girls to be able to express themselves, and I’m more of like a sounding board in a way. Obviously, I’ll help with ideas but the girls are really self-sufficient,” she added.
The Hurricanes will enter the new season without several players who were part of their successful 2025 campaign. Villani has retired, while England internationals Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt-Hodge are also missing from the squad that defeated Perth Scorchers in last season’s final.
The franchise has added several players to its squad, including Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu, all-rounder Chinelle Henry and Kate Pelle. Ella Hayward has also joined from Melbourne Stars.
Chamari Athapaththu, Nicola Carey, Heather Graham, Ella Hayward, Chinelle Henry, Ruth Johnston, Lizelle Lee, Kate Pelle, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Amy Smith, Lauren Smith, Linsey Smith, Molly Strano, Rachel Trenaman and Callie Wilson.
Ins: Ella Hayward (Melbourne Stars), Chinelle Henry (West Indies), Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Kate Pelle.
Outs: Elyse Villani (retired), Natalie Sciver-Brunt (England), Kathryn Bryce (Scotland), Danni Wyatt-Hodge (England), Isabella Malgioglio.
Coach: Jude Coleman.
