One of South Africa’s finest-ever cricketing talents, Lizelle Lee, has re-signed at the Tasmanian Tigers for two more seasons.
“I am very lucky to have the opportunity to play for a team like this, Tasmania is a fantastic place to play cricket.
“I feel blessed to be involved with an organisation like Cricket Tasmania, and I am grateful to be playing for the Tigers for another two years,” explained Lee.
Since moving to Tasmania full-time in 2022, Lee has become an important element of the Tigers batting line-up, scoring 559 runs at an average of 50.82 in her first season of the Women’s National Cricket League.
Establishing herself as a key aspect of the Tigers squad, Lee continues to lead from the front as part of an experienced opening partnership, next to captain Elyse Villani, helping the Tigers to a positive start in many matches during the season.
She followed up her strong performances in her first season, with a further 348 runs in another title-winning run during the 2023-24 season.
Throughout her international career, Lee has had one of most successful careers in South Africa’s history with the third most runs in ODI’s with 3315 runs at an average of 36.42, while in Women's International T20’s she is the overall leading run-scorer with 1896 runs at an average of 25.62.
Lee’s experience in International Cricket has proved valuable to the entire Tigers program, who have watched her play for South Africa for several years, and to see her continuing her cricket career in Tasmania is an exciting prospect for all Tigers cricket fans.
She has also provided up-and-coming Tasmanian talent Emma Manix-Geeves, with support around her wicket-keeping as she continues her own cricketing development for the Tigers, helping Manix-Geeves understand what it takes to be a successful professional cricketer.
Head Coach of the Female Program, Jude Coleman, spoke of Lee’s quality and experience in world cricket.
"Tasmania has been blessed to have a player of Lizzy's quality playing for our WNCL squad.
“The guidance and perspective she has been able to provide our younger contracted players since being a part of the Tigers set-up has been invaluable, and we are glad that she has decided to spend two more seasons playing for us,” discussed Coleman.
Lee joins a talented Tigers list, ahead of their tilt at four WNCL titles in a row as more announcements continue over the coming weeks.