The defending champions have Taylor joining a strong squad that already features Australia vice-captain Alex Blackwell and India’s deputy Harmanpreet Kaur. Taylor was key to Thunder’s WBBL01 success and starred in West Indies triumphant ICC World T20 campaign earlier this year.

“It’s good to be back in the green, I enjoyed my first season, I had a good time (and) I think the competition was really good,” the 25-year-old said. “(Australia) is one of my favourite places to play. I think the competition is really competitive, playing with world-renowned players. It’s a good standard.”

The signing of Kaur, the first Indian player to agree to terms with a BBL or WBBL franchise, was confirmed in July while Blackwell signed a new deal with the club last month.

Taylor says she’s excited to work with the Australian star again: “I love to get in Alex’s ear. I think she’s one of those players you can talk to, especially about captaincy as she’s been playing a long time. It’s good to be around someone like that, who is very positive. I really enjoyed my time with her.”

Taylor proved herself to be one of the best players in the game this year, finishing as the leading run-scorer in both the World T20 and the inaugural Women’s Super League in England, where her Western Storm were beaten in the final. She was also the leading wicket-taker in the Super League and the second most prolific bowler in the WT20 with her off-spin. She was the sixth-highest run-scorer in the WBBL last summer with 372 runs from 16 matches and took 10 wickets at 24.

The Thunder begin their title defence against the Melbourne Stars on 10 December.