Tasmania and ACT join women's league

Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory will field teams in the national women's competition next season after Cricket Australia announced an expansion of what was previously a five-state contest. For the first time there will be a women's domestic Twenty20 tournament in 2009-10, which will feature all six states and the ACT.

The ACT have also been included in the major competition, the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL), while Tasmania will be restricted to the Twenty20 league only. However, there is a chance Tasmania could in 2010-11 join the WNCL, the 50-over competition which has not been expanded since it started in 1996-97.

Cricket Australia said the ACT had been rewarded for developing junior talent having fielded strong sides in underage female national championships in previous years. Michael Brown, the general manager of cricket with Cricket Australia, said the expansions highlighted the growth of women's cricket in Australia.

"Female cricket participation has flourished in recent years and the inclusion of both ACT and Tasmania in national competitions in 2009-10 is another positive sign that we are moving in the right direction," Brown said. "Importantly, the expansion of our interstate competitions will increase the pool of female elite cricketers in Australia and provide more pathway opportunities for the next generation of Southern Stars."

In previous years the women's state sides had played occasional one-off Twenty20 games but forming an official league will allow the scheduling of double-headers with the state men's teams. The announcement came as Australia progressed to the semi-finals of the ICC Women's World Twenty20 in England.