Injured Issy Wong ruled out of WBBL; Amy Jones joins Sydney Thunder

MELBOURNE: England fast bowler Issy Wong has been ruled out of her Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) season with Hobart Hurricanes due to injury.

Wong, who formerly played for Sydney Thunder, will be replaced by Hayley Jensen, a New Zealand all-rounder who filled in for Hurricanes during the 2020-21 campaign.

"It's really unfortunate for Issy the way this opportunity has come about for me, but I'm definitely going to take it with both hands," Jensen said in an official statement released by Hobart Hurricanes.

"It was a really unusual situation we were all in back in 2020 when I last played in the WBBL, but I felt really welcomed by the Hurricanes team and enjoyed my time in purple," she said.

"This will hopefully be the first domestic season in the southern hemisphere where we return to a post-COVID 'normal', so I'm looking forward to getting over to Australia, meeting up with the team and putting some good performances out there," Jensen added further.

England's Amy Jones has joined Sydney Thunder. Jones has played five seasons in the WBBL with the Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers. She captained England near the end of their season when Heather Knight was injured and Nat Sciver took a sabbatical from the game.

Jones, who captained England in their recent series against India, said she was looking forward to returning to the excitement of playing in the ultra-competitive WBBL.

"I've had a year or two out of the league [after playing two seasons with the Sixers and three with Perth from WBBL|02 to 06], so it will be great to be a part of the competition again. I look forward to having fun out there - and hopefully contributing to some wins for Sydney Thunder," Jones said in an official statement released by Sydney Thunder.

However, 29-year-old Jones conceded the opportunity to join forces with Australian cricket great Rachael Haynes in this, her final season with Sydney Thunder, was an irresistible lure.

"I played alongside Rachael at Loughborough Lightning [in England's T20 competition] in 2018, and she was an excellent leader," said Jones.

"And while I'm looking forward to that I also realise there's loads of exciting talent there. Thunder seems to have a tremendous blend of experience and youth. What I've heard from [England teammates] Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont is the club has a bunch of really cool people. They speak very highly of the group and the club, and I can't wait to be a part of that," she added.