CA rolls out Women's BBL schedule

The inaugural Women's Big Bash League will begin on December 5 and comprise of 59 matches from 51 days, Cricket Australia has announced. The eight-team tournament, which will be aligned with the existing BBL structure, will replace the previous state-based women's T20 competition and be held at leading venues across the country such as the Adelaide Oval, Blundstone Arena, Etihad Stadium, the Gabba, MCG, SCG, and the WACA Ground.

A CA release stated that the "televised matches will precede the men's BBL matches" and explained that the tournament had more matches than the men's edition "to ensure that the number of women's domestic matches was not reduced from previous seasons."

"Our goal is to see cricket become the sport of choice for women and girls across the nation, whether as participants or fans, and the WBBL will play a really important part in helping us realise that vision," Mike McKenna, CA's executive general manager, said.

"Australia has had a professional women's competition in the Women's National Cricket League for 19 years and the new competition is a significant step forward for women's cricket in Australia, as we aim to create a more visible and exciting pathway for talented female athletes."

Australia captain Meg Lanning, who has signed with the Melbourne Stars, said she had "never experienced a more exciting time for women's cricket than now", and believed the new tournament would raise "enormous" opportunities.

"The national team is gaining an increased profile and the opportunities flowing from the new WBBL will be enormous, particularly with it being televised," Lanning said. "Hopefully this is just the beginning of what will be a continued surge in girls wanting to get involved with cricket."

Click HERE for the complete list of fixtures.