Hobart Hurricanes import Bryony Smith confident of a road response after first-up WBBL loss

After a disastrous start to WBBL|09, import Bryony Smith is confident the ‘Cane train can get back on track with two away games this week.

Ryan Rosendale

@RosendaleRyan

less than 2 min read

October 23, 2023 - 3:36PM

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

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Hobart Hurricanes import Bryony Smith is confident the ‘Canes can recover from a disastrous start to WBBL|09 with two of their best players a chance to return.

The Hurricanes were defeated by the Perth Scorchers by 98 runs last Friday at UTAS Stadium with Nicola Carey (injured) and skipper Elyse Villani (illness) both missing the first game of the season.

The loss of both top order batters saw a reshuffle of Hobart’s line-up, which included Smith stepping into opening the batting in her first game.

She made just five runs as the Hurricanes fell for 88 off 15.5 overs but despite facing the same side again on Wednesday night at the WACA, followed by a clash with the Adelaide Strikers on Friday, Smith was confident her side could bounce back with two wins.

LAUNCESTON, AUSTRALIA – OCTOBER 20: Bryony Smith of the Hurricanes leaves the field after being dismissed during the WBBL match between Hobart Hurricanes and Perth Scorchers at University of Tasmania Stadium, on October 20, 2023, in Launceston, Australia. (Photo by Steve Bell/Getty Images)

“Obviously a pretty tough start in what was a chaotic week really in losing Nicola (Carey) and Elyse (Villani) pretty close to the game but we know we underperformed,” she said.

“I think we started really well with the ball actually but when someone like Sophie Devine gets going she is pretty hard to stop. But it’s only one game and we still have a lot to go and we are pretty confident going into the next two games.”

Hurricanes captain Elyse Villani is expected to return from illness this week. (Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images for Cricket Australia)

Both Carey and Villani travelled with the squad on Monday but Carey will be unavailable for the Scorchers rematch with a quad injury.

The English import was the Hurricanes second selection in the WBBL draft with the 25 year-old catching the attention of Cricket Tasmania after some excellent recent displays in The Hundred, which included knocks of 70, 64 and 48 for Trent Rockets.