Spring Challenge Squad Set | Heat Warm-Up For WBBL

The T20 Spring Challenge is a pre-WBBL tournament that features the eight Big Bash clubs as well as the ACT Meteors and will be played in Sydney starting on Tuesday.

Australian ODI squad member Charli Knott will captain the Brisbane squad for the competition.

The Heat have selected a 13-player squad containing eight contracted WBBL players, as well as casting an eye to their future with the inclusion of Western Suburbs teenagers Ayaka Stafford and Filippa SueSee.

The duo are both students at Brisbane State High School, with Sue See in Year 11 and Stafford in Year 10.

Leg-spinner Stafford, 15, was a member of the Queensland Under-16 and Under-19 squads last year. She has already played international cricket, representing her mother's birthplace Japan in four T20 internationals.

She toured Sri Lanka last month with the Australian Under-19 women’s squad.

Pace bowler SueSee, a Queensland Under-16 representative in 2023-24, finished as the joint leading wicket-taker in the KFC T20 Max in September, claiming 12 wickets at 10.5.

Also included is new Queensland Fire batter Annie O’Neil, who previously played in the WBBL with the Adelaide Strikers, and Australian Indigenous squad spinner Clodagh Ryall.

O’Neil and Ryall were both stand-outs from the T20 Max for Wests and Wynnum-Manly respectively.

Ryall was set to train at the MCG next week as part of the Australian Indigenous Development squad but will now turn her focus to playing for Brisbane and potentially landing a spot in their squad for the WBBL.

The left-arm spinner has previously played pre-season games for the Queensland Fire and has been a regular performer for Queensland at the National Indigenous Cricket championships.

Sunshine Coast wicket-keeper/batter Mikayla Wrigley earns a spot in the 13-player squad for the tournament following a superb month of cricket.

Wrigley, a Heat contracted player last season, broke the record for the highest individual score in the Katherine Raymont Shield with 250no from 172 balls two weeks ago.

Wrigley, who made her WNCL debut last season and scored 56 against the ACT on Sunday, surpassed the previous Brisbane competition record of 209, set by Georgia Voll in 2023, finishing with 35 fours and one six in her knock.

Each team will play four matches before the top four play off in the semi-finals and final. 

The Heat finished as runners-up in the inaugural final last season.

WBBL clubs have been required to keep one spot available on their list for an Australian domestic player who plays in the T20 Spring Challenge competition.

The Heat squad has five uncontracted players vying for the final Weber WBBL|11 contract.

All matches in the T20 Spring Challenge will be live streamed on Kayo Sports, cricket.com.au, and the CA Live app, ensuring fans can follow every moment of the action. 

Heat players Grace Harris and Jess Jonassen were not available as they continue with player management plans before next month’s WBBL.

The Heat will open WBBL|11 at Allan Border Field on Sunday 9 November against the Melbourne Renegades in a repeat of last season’s WBBL Final won by the Gades.

Brisbane’s clash with the Renegades will be the first of a double-header at Allan Border Field that day, with the Sydney Thunder taking on Hobart Hurricanes in the second match.

2025-26 T20 Spring Challenge Squad
WBBL Brisbane Heat
2. Charli Knott (UQ (c)
3. Lily Bassingthwaighte (Wests)
11. Bonnie Berry (Valley)
7. Lucy Bourke (Valley)
1.Sianna Ginger (Valley)
12. Lucy Hamilton (Sunshine Coast)
21. Nicola Hancock (UQ)
15. Annie O’Neil (Wests)
8. Georgia Redmayne (Wests)
10. Clodagh Ryall (Wynnum-Manly)
23. Aya Stafford (Wests)
5. Filippa SueSee (Wests)
4. Mikayla Wrigley (Sunshine Coast)

Coaches: Mark Sorell, Jeff Thomas, Leteysha Randall. Physio: Jolandi Jacobs.

T20 SPRING CHALLENGE - WBBL Heat
Oct 21: Brisbane Heat vs. Melbourne Renegades | Cricket Central
Oct 23: Perth Scorchers vs. Brisbane Heat | Blacktown International Sports Park 2
Oct 25: Brisbane Heat vs. Melbourne Stars | North Sydney Oval
Oct 26: Hobart Hurricanes vs. Brisbane Heat | North Sydney Oval

Semi-Finals
Oct 29: First (TBC) vs. Fourth (TBC) | Cricket Central
Oct 29: Second (TBC) vs. Third (TBC) | Cricket Central

Final
Oct 30: TBC vs. TBC | Cricket Central