Priest moves from Renegades to Thunder in WBBL

New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Rachel Priest will turn out for the Sydney Thunder in the third season of the Women's Big Bash League, after two seasons with the Melbourne Renegades.

"I've really enjoyed my time in the WBBL so far," Priest told sydneythunder.com.au ."I enjoyed my time at the Melbourne Renegades but I felt it was time for a change and to move to such a professional and competitive team really excites me. I've played a lot against Alex Blackwell, Rachael Haynes and Rene Farrell. It's a very exciting squad that also has a lot of young talented players."

Known for an explosive batting style, Priest scored 512 runs for the Renegades while captaining the side, and also effected 22 dismissals. She was the leading run-scorer in the 2017 edition of the Kia Super League in England with 261 runs in seven innings for Western Storm, including a century and two fifties. Her 36-ball 72 against Southern Vipers in the final helped Western Storm clinch the title by seven wickets.

Her run in the Super League marked a return to form after a disappointing World Cup in June-July, where she scored 125 runs in six matches. She missed New Zealand's tour of UAE for the series against Pakistan, with the team management asking her to work on improving her physical conditioning.

Thunder, who won the inaugural edition of the WBBL, had failed to make it to the semi-finals last season. They will get their 2017-18 campaign underway against the Renegades on December 9 at North Sydney Oval.