Milly Illingworth, a young fast bowler from Australia, had a difficult 48 hours that included both happiness and a personal disappointment. After signing her first Women’s Premier League (WPL) deal with the Mumbai Indians, the 20-year-old learnt that her flat had flooded overnight when she woke up on Friday. Due to the unforeseen damage, a large portion of her auction proceeds will now be used for home repairs.
During the expedited round of the 2026 auction, Illingworth was acquired by the two-time WPL winners Mumbai Indians at her base price of INR 10 lakh. Even though it was a significant turning point in her career, her Australian flat had just been severely flooded hours before.
Sophie Molineux, the captain of the Melbourne Renegades, disclosed the situation when addressing from the sidelines during the game versus the Melbourne Stars. Molineux broke the news in a humorous way.
She will be ecstatic, though, as she was just selected for the Mumbai Indians in the WPL (0:03). That is enormous, isn’t it? It’s truly hilarious and incredible (0:08). Any money she earns will go directly towards fixing up her flat because it flooded last night (0:13). That’s a bit of a running joke right now (0:17). She will be upset by it, I promise,” Molineux remarked.
Looks like Milly Illingworth’s WPL payday with the Mumbai Indians is going straight to her apartment 😅 #WBBL11 pic.twitter.com/ttMjYy5Uvy
— Weber Women’s Big Bash League (@WBBL) November 29, 2025
Illingworth achieves career-high WBBL numbers.
Illingworth had a fantastic game with the ball while playing for the Melbourne Renegades against the Melbourne Stars in the WBBL derby at Junction Oval, despite the difficult circumstances at home. She finished with 3 for 19 from four overs, which was her best-ever performance in the competition.
In her second stint, she dismissed Danielle Gibson and Marizanne Kapp after first dismissing Rhys McKenna. Even though the Renegades were bowled out for 115 and lost by 45 runs, her efforts helped limit the Stars to 160 for 5.
Illingworth will shortly join the Mumbai Indians, where she will have the opportunity to play alongside Nat Sciver-Brunt, Nicola Carey, and Shabnim Ismail. She has now claimed 17 wickets in 33 WBBL games.
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