An aggressive top-order batswoman, Elyse Villani started off in her under-21 days with a reputation of being a clean stroke-maker with a range of shots all around the park. Add to that an ability to slip in a few quiet overs of seam ups. A year later in 2009, she found herself in the national side making her T20 debut against New Zealand. The 2010 World T20 was a feather in her hat when she was a part of the winning Southern Stars side that lifted the trophy.
However, some middling performances and a niggle in the hamstring saw her lose her form followed by her spot in the side. Not for long though, as she came back in the 2012-13 season with a stellar season for VicSpirit, her home team. She celebrated her return with the World Cup winning side in 2013 in India. The next couple of years saw a stunning T20I series against Pakistan with her amassing 181 runs at an average of over 60. She was also a part of the 2015 Ashes winning side that brought the urn back home from England.
Currently having made the move to Western Australia, she plays for the Perth Scorchers in the WBBL and also saw them to the finals of the second edition. Quite like most of the other Aussie sportswomen, Villani too was selected to represent her country in dodgeball, something she couldn't quite fulfill, thanks to her cricketing commitments. Thank heavens for that, for cricket would have lost a truly classy batter.
Vineet Anantharaman
