Perth Scorchers captain Sophie Devine believes Brooke Halliday brings new dynamic to middle order

Scorchers captain Sophie Devine believes World Cup-winning compatriot Brooke Halliday will bring a new dynamic to the Scorchers’ middle order when she gets her first.

The 29-year-old New Zealander will replace English keeper-batter Amy Jones, who is set to travel to South Africa to play a T20 International series with England.

Halliday was a core member of New Zealand’s landmark T20 World Cup triumph in the United Arab Emirates, and is coming off the best 12 months of her career.

“I always love having another Kiwi on board, and it’s nice because I’m not the only one that gets bullied for my accent,” Devine told The West Australian.

“It’s good to have Brooke on board, and she’s had a fantastic 12-18 months. She’s a little bit older as a player, which I think is a really good thing.

“She has a calm head on her shoulders and knows her game extremely well. Being a left-hander adds a facet to the game.

“There’s a few (lefties) floating around our team, but to have Brooke in the middle order, she’s a slightly different player to Jonesy, and it’s always going to be hard to replace someone like Amy, but in Brooke, I think we’ve got a replacement who’s had a really successful last couple of months with the Kiwi side, and she’s really looking forward to getting over here and getting stuck in amongst the Scorchers girls.”

Devine added Halliday would also be a vital player for road trips, particularly on the east coast, having developed her sweep shots that saw her post a career-best 86 in the final ODI against India in Ahmedabad last month.

“I think she’s got the ability to go over both sides, and she’s brought in the sweeps and reverse sweeps into her game which I think is really important playing on the east coast against a lot of spin,” she said.

“She’s equally adept at playing the pace as well, and her ability to use her feet is something that’s going to hold her in really good stead.

“She’s an experienced player, and she will be able to adapt to anything that’s thrown at her, and I’m really excited to see what she can do in the Scorchers colours.”