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Former Australian cricketer Elyse Villani bid farewell to the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) in memorable fashion. Under the captaincy of the 36-year-old Villani, the Hobart Hurricanes defeated the Perth Scorchers by eight wickets in the final to win their first WBBL title. The championship match, played at Bellerive Oval on December 13, marked the end of Villani's WBBL career. After the match, Villani revealed that it was her last WBBL game. She said it was a fairytale ending, something rarely seen in top-level sport. She had been considering this throughout the season and wanted her career to end this way. Before the match, she was 80 percent certain she would retire afterward, but the victory solidified her decision, confirming it was the right moment. Only 2 Matches Lost This Season Villani, who has played 99 international matches for Australia, participated in all 11 seasons of the WBBL. She also played for the Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Stars and was a runner-up three times. In the 2022-23 season, she joined the Hobart Hurricanes, a team that had finished last in three of the previous five seasons. The Hurricanes then strengthened their squad and lost only two matches this season. Villani praised the team's strength, saying that sometimes there's pressure that comes with being a great team, but the biggest strength of this team was that different players stepped up at different stages of the season. Both Titles for Hobart Hurricanes Villani clarified that she will continue to play for Tasmania in the 50-over format and will also remain involved with the Hobart Hurricanes in an off-field role. She said that cricket has been a huge part of her life and she will miss it greatly, but a dream can't last forever. With this historic victory, the Hobart Hurricanes have now claimed both the BBL and WBBL titles, while Elyse Villani concluded her career with a memorable chapter. Notably, in the Women's Big Bash League final, the Hurricanes, bowling first, restricted the Perth Scorchers to 137 runs for 5 wickets. Opening batter Lizelle Lee then played a blistering innings, scoring an unbeaten 77 runs off just 44 balls to guide her team to a spectacular victory. Lee's innings included 10 fours and four sixes.

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