Sydney Thunder sign young pacer Jessica Davidson for WBBL07

^th member of the squad for the seventh edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), the club announced on Wednesday (October 6).

Davidson, who is also a classical violin musician, said she loves bowling fast and will be looking to bowl in the right areas if given a chance. “I like bowling fast, it’s a different focus to music. If I am given my chance, I would like to think Sydney Thunder supporters will see that I bowl to good areas,” she said.

18-year-old Davidson is also handy with the bat and wants to emulate her idol Sophie Devine when she takes the field for Thunder in WBBL07.

“She is a really exciting player, and has always been someone who I have always enjoy watching play,” Davidson added.

Head coach Trevor Griffin said Davidson will add variety to Thunder’s bowling attack with her ability to bowl fast and will fill an important role going forward.

“Jess provides us with a young up-and-coming quick bowler. What stood out to me about Jess is she runs in and bowls with pace. I am excited to welcome her to Thunder Nation, and I look forward to spending time with her and seeing how her career progresses with Thunder,” Griffin said. “I have no doubt she will be challenging to get the new ball at some point.”

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Mark McInnes, Thunder’s assistant coach, said the right-arm pacer impressed with her pace and big-hitting ability at the age of 14 itself when she joined the pathways.

“Jess was bowling quite fast even then. A lot of us were impressed that she could generate what were decent bouncers at such a young age,” McInnes.

“Added to that was 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.”

Thunder will start their title defence with the match against Adelaide Strikers on October 16 at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart.

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