WBBL to go ahead despite Hobart snap lockdown

The WBBL will continue as scheduled under strict biosecure conditions despite the city of Hobart, which is set to host four matches over the weekend, going into a snap three-day lockdown on Friday.

Hobart was plunged into lockdown following a Covid-19 case emerging in the virus-free state following a breach by a traveller from New South Wales, who spent several days in the community before testing positive. On Saturday, there were zero community cases in Tasmania.

CA released a statement on Saturday morning saying the four matches in Hobart would go ahead under strict biosecure protocols without crowds, with all players and staff having already returned negative Covid tests and already being fully vaccinated.

"The League and all eight Clubs are incredibly thankful to the Tasmanian Government for allowing the Weber WBBL to safely continue in Hobart this weekend," Big Bash Leagues general manager Alistair Dobson said.

"We'd also like to express our gratitude to players and staff from all Clubs, plus match officials, broadcast partners and venue staff for their understanding as we worked through the final details with the Tasmanian Government. The experience gained from last summer means all involved in the Weber WBBL are well prepared to do whatever is necessary to conduct a safe and successful competition this year."

Seven of the eight WBBL teams are currently in Tasmania after the tournament got underway on Thursday. The players of all seven teams were confined to their hotel rooms on Friday awaiting further instructions.

Perth Scorchers announced that they would delay their travel by 24 hours with their first match scheduled for Sunday. They had originally remained in Perth due to the scarcity of training facilities in Hobart given seven other teams were already there. They arrived in Hobart late on Saturday with the WBBL announcing that Sunday's fixtures would be swapped to allow the Scorchers time to settle in, with the Hobart Hurricanes Sydney Sixers clash moved to Sunday morning and the Heat Scorchers clash moved to the afternoon.

The first 20 matches, and 24 in total, are scheduled to be played in Tasmania before the tournament is then scheduled to shift to Adelaide, Perth and Mackay in Queensland.

CA spent all of Friday and part of Saturday morning working through the various issues with the Tasmania government and also the state governments of Western Australia and South Australia given the teams will need quarantine-free passage to those states to play out the schedule as planned.