Perth Scorchers championship-winner and inaugural player Heather Graham has cut cricketing ties with her home State for good and has been unveiled as a Hobart Hurricanes player.

The new WBBL deal completes the West Australian’s move to Tasmania, having defected to the State’s Women’s National Cricket League team in 2020.

What became the all-rounder’s final season in orange was a career-best summer in the shortest format, with her 18 scalps leaving her fourth on the competition’s wicket-taking charts.

Graham said the success of Tasmania’s WNCL side and her knowledge and trust of the program was what lured her to the Hurricanes.

“Being a part of the Tigers program in Hobart year-round and knowing the kind of program Sall (Hurricanes head coach Salliann Briggs) and Dan (assistant coach Dan Marsh) and the team have built there, the opportunity to be a part of that from a Hurricanes perspective as well was just too good to pass up,” she told the Hurricanes’ website.

“The Tigers had an incredible year in the WNCL last season and knowing the group of players we current have as well as some of the new signings that are coming, I think we can translate that success to the T20 form of the game really soon.”

But the 26-year-old did admit ending her long association with WA Cricket wasn’t an easy decision.

“Obviously being originally from Perth and having played at the Scorchers from the very beginning, it was a really hard decision to move over to the Hurricanes, especially after the success we had at the Scorchers last year,” Graham said.

The Scorchers paid tribute to Graham in a social media post on Tuesday.

“Thanks for everything HG, you’ve been with us since day dot, and played such an important part in our success,” the post read.

“Wishing you the very best in your new chapter with the Canes.”

Graham scored an important 23 from just 20 balls batting at four in last summer’s WBBL final, before taking the crucial wicket of Laura Wolvaardt and the late scalp of Amanda-Jade Wellington as the Scorchers beat Adelaide to win the title at Optus Stadium.

She played exactly 100 matches for the Perth club, finishing with just over 1000 runs and 102 wickets to her name.

Her departure comes after the Scorchers secured its all-important leadership pillars, with captain Sophie Devine and coach Shelley Nitschke both recommitting to the franchise.