Ginger ready to spice up WBBL|10

The 19-year-old prodigy used to mix her after school activities between cricket and soccer, before the former eventually won out, even if it was by taking the road less travelled.

The daughter of Sri Lankan parents, Ginger would often have to compete against the boys in her junior years in North Queensland, such was her level of talent when it came to cricket.

Now considered one of the brightest young stars in the women’s game, Ginger is looking to make an imprint on WBBL|10 this season for the Brisbane Heat.

The all-rounder grew up happy to try most things, but with cricket and soccer her two loves, she admits it was hard not to base her game off superstar Ellyse Perry.

“I played a lot in the backyard like most Aussie kids,” she said.

“I started playing club cricket, there was an after-school program where the PE teacher got me to sign up to the local club when I was about nine.

“There weren’t really pathways for the girls up there, but there were for the boys, so I tacked onto that a bit.

“You look back now and have a look at what's in place now compared to then.

“Then I moved to Brisbane, there were some academy programs around then, so there were some other girls around to come through with.

“I played a lot of soccer growing up, I started that when I was five and only stopped a couple of years ago.

“Soccer was more of a fun thing, I just followed my friends around, where cricket was what I was passionate about.

“Obviously playing soccer when you grow up, you naturally look at Ellyse Perry, she has been the face of women’s cricket for so long now.”

A dream to study engineering at university was put on hold last year as her star continued to rise after being picked for the Australian Under-19 Women’s World Cup where she played five matches and produced a starring role against powerhouses India and England with three wickets in both games.

Punching above her weight is nothing new for Ginger, who captained Queensland in the Cricket Australia Under-19 National Championships in 2022 and finished as the third-highest run scorer for the series, which paved the way for international honours.

New to the Heat for WBBL|10, Ginger says she is looking to get her foot in the door at senior level with some of her high-profile teammates away for international duties.

“I’m pretty open minded about it, I don’t have many expectations yet because Big Bash is the highest quality of domestic cricket, the biggest domestic T20 comp in the world,” she said.

“I want to make my debut, if there’s some opportunities come up, I want to be able to take them.

“Having the international players away sometimes representing their country can help me out with that.

“I’m a young player, so I know that, I just want to learn some stuff from the older girls.

“I have gotten the chance to play with a lot of the girls already, even the Aussie international ones.

“I’m lucky that they are friends, so I can say I go out there playing with my friends when I pull on that jersey.”

Despite her Sri Lankan heritage, Ginger says it has always been the dream to represent Australia at the highest level.

“Dad has always been into cricket and so was mum's dad,” she said.

“It was always Australia, they moved out there when they were pretty young so they are Australians.”

WBBL and BBL tickets for the Heat are on sale now through Ticketek.
  
Fans who purchase a ticket between October 17–26 can score a limited-edition WBBL player badge. Badges can be collected at Gate 2 of the Gabba during Gabba Smash or at the ticket marquee at Allan Border Field. 
 
For the first time, the WBBL Heat will play a stand-alone match at the Gabba, taking on the Adelaide Strikers on Saturday 9 November, as well as three matches under lights at Allan Border Field. 
 
WBBL|10 Squad: Bonnie Berry, Nadine de Klerk (South Africa), Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Nicola Hancock, Grace Harris, Laura Harris, Jess Jonassen, Charli Knott, Shikha Pandey (India), Grace Parsons, Georgia Redmayne, Jemimah Rodrigues (India), Mikayla Wrigley