Aussie ODI player joins Tasmanian Tigers for new WNCL summer

She only knows one person in Hobart and Tigers’ new recruit Heather Graham is now in compulsory isolation with her sharing the 150kg of weights she packed for the move.

AUSTRALIAN ODI all-rounder and Perth Scorcher Heather Graham aims to have an immediate impact for Tasmania this summer but coronavirus quarantine will keep her from meeting all but one of her Tigers teammates until the end of next week.

Tasmania’s newest cricket recruit, Graham, 24, of Western Australia, arrived in Hobart on Friday and went into immediate isolation with a familiar face – her partner and a future Tigers teammate.

“My partner is Emily Smith, the keeper. We first met when she was playing in WA but she got picked up by the Tigers last season,” Graham said.

Heather Graham of the Scorchers smiles leaving the field during the Women's Big Bash League T20 semi-final match between the Perth Scorchers and the Brisbane Heat at the WACA, Perth in 2017. (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)

“We went for a year doing long-distance and I had the decision to make whether I wanted to stay in WA and continue our long distance relationship or come across to Tassie and play for the Tigers.

“It was a hard decision and also an easy decision in that I was with WA for nine years and I felt like I needed a little bit of a freshen up.

“It was kind of a blessing in disguise that I was able to come down to Tassie and know one person.”

Heather Graham of the Scorchers plays a shot during the Women's Big Bash League match between the Adelaide Strikers and the Perth Scorchers at Traeger Park on January 12, 2019 in Alice Springs, Australia. (Photo by James Elsby/Getty Images)

Graham has also crossed paths with Tasmanian coach Salliann Briggs.

“I know Sal pretty well. She spent a little bit of time with the Scorchers a couple of years back when Lisa [Keightley] was our coach,” Graham said.

“That made the decision quite easy as well, knowing the coach and having worked with her already, and my partner being down here playing too.”

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Graham, who is contracted to the Scorchers in the WBBL for another two seasons, is a nine-year veteran with the Western Fury in the WNCL and made her international one day debut for Australia against Sri Lanka in October.

“I hope to bring the knowledge and experience I have so far in my nine seasons of playing,” she said.

“I had a pretty big role in WA in the past couple of seasons being one of the senior players at still such a young age.

“The experiences I’ve had in the past year, especially with WA making it to the final, have been valuable, so hopefully the experience I’ve learned from there I can bring to the girls here in Tassie.”

Tasmania’s next recruit, NSW batter Naomi Stalenberg, will arrive aboard the Spirit of Tasmania today.