MCG and SCG won't host WBBL games as Stadium Series is shelved for now

There will be no WBBL matches scheduled at the MCG or the SCG in the upcoming home and away season but the possibility of another MCG final remains open after Cricket Australia committed to a Saturday night final that will be held the day before the start of the BBL season.

CA released the schedule for the upcoming WBBL season on Friday. The tournament is going to be completed in a tight 35-day window between November 9 and December 13, squeezed between the Women's ODI World Cup in India and the men's BBL which begins on December 14.

The WBBL season will get underway with a grand final rematch between Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Renegades at the Allan Border Field in the first game of a double-header with Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes also facing off at the ground in a twilight match.

There are 10 double-headers in all, but just one at a major international venue with the Adelaide Oval hosting two matches on November 28. The WBBL made a bold move last season to host matches at major venues as part of a 'Stadium Series', with three matches hosted at the Adelaide Oval, two at the SCG, one at the Gabba and three at the MCG including the final.

But Big Bash League general manager Alistair Dobson said it was a difficult year to promote stadium games due to the tightness of the schedule.

"Each season when we look at the schedule, we are always looking for the balance of the right venues and the right opportunity to promote those games," Dobson said. "We've enjoyed playing in bigger stadiums for the past couple of seasons, and are really looking forward to being back at Adelaide Oval this year.

"The other games, largely due to scheduling reasons and needing to optimise those games in those big stadiums, we haven't found the right slot for them this year.

"That's not to say we won't be back there in the future, because [playing] the world's best cricket league in the world's best stadiums is still a part of our thinking going forward, but not for this season."

There is a possibility though that the MCG could hold the final if one of the Melbourne teams earns the right to host it given the CitiPower Centre (Junction Oval) will not have lights erected in time for the WBBL season, with the final scheduled to be a Saturday night game after last year's final was played during the day.

The North Sydney Oval, the Allan Border Field and the WACA all have lights which means the SCG, the Gabba and the Perth Stadium would unlikely be used for the final if required. The Adelaide Oval will also be unavailable on December 13 due to the third men's Ashes Test being hosted on December 17 but the Karen Rolton Oval has lights for Adelaide Strikers to host there.

There has been some raised eyebrows among clubs regarding parts of the schedule with each team having to host a game at a neutral venue. Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers will play in Adelaide just two days before Strikers and Scorchers play against each other in Melbourne. But the request of the broadcasters Channel Seven and Foxtel to minimise the amount of movement of broadcast equipment across the tightly condensed season has forced some compromises in the schedule.