Holly Ferling swaps Stars for Renegades ahead of Women's Big Bash

The 25-year-old pace bowler has made 64 career appearances in the Women’s Big Bash, taking 43 wickets and recording an economy of 6.8

Pace bowler Holly Ferling has signed a one-year deal with Melbourne Renegades ahead of this season’s Women’s Big Bash.

The 25-year-old joins the Renegades from cross-city rivals Melbourne Stars, for whom she took six wickets in eight appearances in 2020.

In total, Ferling, who started her career with Brisbane Heat, has made 64 WBBL appearances, taking 43 wickets and recording an economy of 6.8.

The Queensland native has also made 34 appearances for Australia in all formats, taking 32 wickets, but hasn't featured for the national side since November 2016.

Commenting on joining Melbourne Renegades, Ferling said: "I’d like to thank the Renegades for giving me this opportunity to continue my WBBL career in Melbourne. It will definitely feel a bit strange running out when we come up against the Stars for the first time.

^{Ferling representing Australia}

"Under the leadership of Sophie Molineux, the squad has an exciting mix youngsters and senior players. I know the Renegades are keen to put themselves in finals contention again and hopefully be the first of the Melbourne teams to lift the WBBL trophy. At a personal level I’m looking forward to working with our coach Simon Helmot and making a positive impact in red."

Head coach, Simon Helmot, added: "Holly is a great addition to our overall bowling line up and depth. She’s played more than 60 WBBL matches now and represented Australia in every format of the game. She’ll be great for our younger players and a fantastic ambassador for the club."

Melbourne Renegades finished seventh in the WBBL06, winning just four matches. The club have progressed to the knockout stages on two occasions, finishing fourth in WBBL04 and WBBL05.