Sydney Thunder sign Jessica Davidson to complete WBBL 07 squad

The 18-year-old pace bowler is the final piece of the puzzle for the defending champions

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Sydney Thunder have recruited Jessica Davidson to complete their 15-strong squad for the 2021 Women’s Big Bash.

The 18-year-old Australian pacer has been involved in New South Wales’ pathway programme for four years and first caught the eye of assistant coach, Mark McInnes as a 14-year-old.

"Jess was bowling quite fast even then," he said. "A lot of us were impressed that she could generate what were decent bouncers at such a young age. Added to that, Jess proved she was a hard-hitting middle-order batter. Her talent was obvious, and it's clear she's worked hard on her game."

Head coach, Trevor Griffin, was also full of praise for his newest addition, backing Davidson to help the seam department fill the hole left by injured pacer Shabnim Ismail.

^{Davidson and overseas signing Issy Wong have the task of replacing Shabnim Ismail (above)}

"Jess provides us with a young up-and-coming quick bowler," he said. "What stood out to me about Jess is she runs in and bowls with pace. I have no doubt she'll be challenging to get the new ball at some point."

In addition to Davidson, Sydney Thunder have three new overseas signings for their title defence, with Issy Wong, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma replacing Ismail, Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight, respectively.

Corinne Hall is the other new face in the squad, arriving from Hobart Hurricanes while Rachel Trenaman moved in the other direction.

Sydney Thunder squad: Rachael Haynes, Samantha Bates, Hannah Darlington, Corinne Hall, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Anika Learoyd, Phoebe Litchfield, Kate Peterson, Olivia Porter, Lauren Smith, Tahlia Wilson, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma, Issy Wong, Jessica Davidson