More games will be played in the country’s largest stadiums, including a long-awaited return to the Gabba, alongside a higher proportion of matches in prime time as the Weber WBBL enters a new era in its milestone 10th season.
Cricket Australia has unveiled the 43-game, 36-day schedule for WBBL|10, which will launch with a blockbuster triple header across Adelaide and Perth on Sunday, October 27, and culminate with the final on Sunday, December 1.
View the full schedule HERE
A rematch of last season’s final between the Adelaide Strikers and Brisbane Heat begins the season at Adelaide Oval, before the Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Sixers meet at the same ground.
Key points of Weber WBBL|10 schedule
43-game season runs October 27 to December 1
WBBL returns to the Gabba with expanded ‘Stadium Series’
Finals format unchanged but full hosting rights eliminates neutral venues
More matches played in television prime time with 23 games (including finals) on Seven Network and 7plus, and every match on Foxtel and Kayo Sports
Expanded DRS and other new broadcast technology this season
The Perth Scorchers will then host the Melbourne Stars at the WACA Ground to cap off the opening day, while Hobart Hurricanes and Sydney Thunder will begin their campaigns the following evening at Blundstone Arena.
The schedule release comes after CA confirmed in April the WBBL would be condensed to a 40-game regular season – bringing it in line with the men’s KFC BBL – with about a fortnight shaved from previous tournaments.
Each team will play 10 regular season matches rather than 14, with each club playing three others twice.
“Creating the WBBL schedule is complex in working to ensure we can move the jigsaw pieces around to put the best games in the best slots at the best times,” Margot Harley, Big Bash Leagues’ head of competition development and strategy, told cricket.com.au.
“It is a busy summer but we’re really happy with where our games have landed in a busy time for women’s cricket.
“With this 40-game season we’re able to optimise the time slots and bring more games into prime time and (increase) the opportunities for families and young kids to attend, whether that be after school or work, or on the weekends.”
An expanded Stadium Series will run from November 9 to 16, building on the WBBL’s return to the country’s most iconic venues in WBBL|09.
The Gabba will host a WBBL game for the first time in six years – and the first ever standalone game for the women – when the Heat host the Strikers on November 9.
The Sydney Cricket Ground will host a Sydney Smash as part of a double header on November 10, while a Melbourne derby will be one of two games hosted at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on November 15.
The Strikers will host the Hurricanes a day later at Adelaide Oval on November 16.
Weber WBBL|10 Key dates
October 27: Season-opening triple-header: Strikers v Heat and Renegades v Sixers @ Adelaide Oval before Scorchers v Stars @ WACA Ground
November 9: Renegades v Stars derby @ Junction Oval, followed by Heat v Strikers @ Gabba
November 10: Sixers v Thunder @ SCG
November 15: Stars v Renegades @ MCG
November 17: Thunder v Sixers @ Drummoyne
November 27: Knockout final (3rd v 4th)
November 29: Challenger final (winner Knockout v 2nd)
December 1: WBBL|10 final (first v winner Challenger)
A greater proportion of matches will be played in prime time, while the schedule includes seven neutral games, down from 10 the previous season and 25 the year before that, and every team will play at home in the first week of the tournament.
While there will be no change to the structure of the finals series – which differs from the KFC BBL – the schedule has been tweaked to ensure there is no longer a neutral finals game.
The team that finishes on top of the table at the end of the regular season will still host the final on Sunday, December 1.
The sides finishing third and fourth will meet in The Knockout on November 27 – to be hosted by the third-ranked side.
The winner of that game will then travel to play the second-ranked qualifier in The Challenger on November 29 for a spot in the final.
Previously, the second-ranked team hosted both elimination games on back-to-back days.
How fans can tune into the season will also be a little different in WBBL|10 under Cricket Australia’s new Media Rights Agreement with Foxtel Group and Seven West Media.
The Seven Network will broadcast 23 matches, including all Finals, on its free-to-air channels and, for the first time, the 7plus digital platform.
Every match will be shown live on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.
“This year is looking bigger and better than ever with huge prime time games and the addition of 7plus to the broadcast mix, and we’re also working really closely with Fox on a number of Fox exclusives that will look bigger and better than ever,” Big Bash Leagues general manager Alistair Dobson said.
“That gives us an opportunity to expand the use of DRS, expand the use of other technology in the game, and also give our fans the full broadcast experience that they love about the Big Bash.
“We couldn’t be more excited about the way our broadcasters are leaning into the growth of the WBBL.”
Meanwhile, the Thunder have a new home base for the second time in as many seasons, shifting away from Cricket Central to Drummoyne Oval, where they will host the Sydney Sixers, Perth Scorchers and Melbourne Renegades alongside two home matches at North Sydney Oval.
The WBBL|10 schedule slots into a packed 2024-25 season for Australia’s – and the world’s – top cricketers.
The tournament will begin just one week after the T20 World Cup concludes in Bangladesh, while the December 1 final is just four days before the start of the CommBank ODI series between Australia and India on December 5.
There are, however, some international scheduling conflicts during the season. South Africa are hosting England in a multi-format series from November 24, starting with three T20Is before the ODIs start on December 5.
However, Proteas pre-draft signings Marizanne Kapp and Nadine de Klerk have already confirmed they will be available for the entire WBBL season.
India meanwhile are pencilled in on the ICC’s Future Tours Programme to host New Zealand in three ODIs and three T20Is immediately following the T20 World Cup, but dates for those games have yet to be confirmed.
“The WBBL is still the biggest and best cricket league for women in the world – the highest quality, the hardest to play in and that’s underpinned by the quality of Australian players and our domestic competition, but also overseas players coming and playing,” Dobson said.
“We’ve done lots to make that more appealing than ever before in the last couple of seasons, doubling the salary cap and this season reducing the length of the season as part of that model.
“That said, this year it’s a really busy time of year with the World Cup immediately prior.
“We’re still working through that with players and agents and other home boards around what that looks like and clubs are in constant contact with the players.
“We won’t get a true picture of that until closer to the competition as players start to understand their workloads … but regardless of that, we’re still really optimistic that the best players want to come and play, whether that’s for the whole season or part of it, we’re still a destination that players want to be part of.”
The overseas player draft is due to be held in September, with further details to come.
The WBBL season will be preceded by the new domestic T20 competition, which will feature all eight clubs plus the ACT Meteors and which has been introduced to ensure there will be no overall reduction in women’s domestic games as a result of the shortened Big Bash.