There are dreams, and then there is a post-dream reality. Milly Illingworth, on Thursday (November 27) had a bit of both. After going unsold in the first round of the WPL 2026 Auction, where Milly went unsold, she went to bed thinking that was that.

"I saw I got passed in, and I didn't know there was (another) round, so I went to bed," Illingworth told cricket.com.au.

"And then I woke up to a crazy couple of messages, and I nearly had a heart attack when I saw it.

"Waking up a Mumbai Indian was very, very cool."

For a 20-year-old quick from Geelong, just the opportunity to share a dressing room with Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews and Amelia Kerr promises to be a real treat. But it’s someone else that Milly is most excited sharing the stage (and the new ball ) with.

"I've got one of my idols I'm playing alongside," she said. "I'm just super excited to get over there and give it a crack."

We are just as excited to have you over, Milly! Welcome to the Blue and Gold. Let’s rattle some stumps, shall we?