Ni Made Putri Suwandewi, a promising Indonesian fast bowler, has joined the Perth Scorchers for the upcoming Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) season as an Associate rookie. Her signing marks a significant milestone in the growing partnership between WA Cricket and Persatuan Cricket Indonesia, with a focus on developing women's cricket in the country.
Suwandewi, 26, has been a standout performer for Indonesia since her international debut in 2019. With 49 wickets in 40 WT20Is at an exceptional average of 8.18 and an economy rate of 2.97, she has established herself as one of the most economical bowlers in women's T20I cricket.
Her impressive bowling repertoire includes a menacing inswinger, a deceptive slower ball, and the ability to execute precise yorkers. Perth Scorchers coach Becky Grundy and high performance boss Kade Harvey were particularly impressed by her skills during their visit to Bali earlier this year.
"She bowls a natural inswinger, but has excellent variety with a good slower ball and can hit the yorkers," Harvey said. "She's quite short, but a really skilful bowler."
Suwandewi's arrival in Perth has been met with enthusiasm, and she has already made a positive impression during training. "She's got the potential to play a role for us in the tournament," Harvey said. "We're going to be missing some international players at different stages. It was a good opportunity to utilise the rules in terms of the Associate rookie. But we wouldn't have done it if we didn't think she was capable of contributing."
The signing of Suwandewi underscores the growing partnership between WA Cricket and Persatuan Cricket Indonesia. Grundy and Harvey's visit to Bali in April provided an opportunity to witness the progress of women's cricket in Indonesia and identify areas for collaboration.
"We were really impressed with the standard of cricket from the girls in Indonesia," Harvey said. "They play on astro turf, so we think a big part of their development is getting on good turf wickets."
With over 200,000 women playing cricket across 21 provinces, Indonesia has a vast potential for growth in the sport. The partnership between WA Cricket and Persatuan Cricket Indonesia aims to provide support and guidance to help the Indonesian women's team achieve their goal of becoming a top 10 team in the world.
Tags: #WBBL, #PerthScorchers, #NiMadePutriSuwandewi, #IndonesianCricket, #WomenInCricket
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