Women's Big Bash League (WBBL): Format, History and Key Facts

The Women's Big Bash League, known as the WBBL, is Australia's professional women's Twenty20 competition. It began in the 2015-16 season and is run by Cricket Australia in the Australian summer, usually from October to November, ahead of the men's Big Bash League. It is regarded as one of the leading women's domestic T20 competitions in the world.

How it began

The WBBL was created as the women's counterpart to the Big Bash League, which had launched in 2011-12. The new competition gave each of the men's BBL clubs a women's side and gave Australia's best players a regular professional setting. The first season was held in 2015-16, and Sydney Thunder won the inaugural title. In the years since, the league has attracted leading international players from many countries, while Australian internationals form the core of most squads.

Teams

Eight teams are based in Australian cities and share their identities with their men's counterparts. They are Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder. The fact that each club runs both a men's and a women's team has helped to share fan bases, venues and sponsors between the two.

Format and rules

Matches are Twenty20 games with twenty overs per side. Teams play each other in a league stage and are ranked on a points table, and the top-ranked teams advance to a finals series. The grand final decides the champion. Over time the league has changed the length of its season and its finals structure, and it has played at suburban grounds as well as the main stadiums, sometimes as double-headers with men's fixtures.

Importance

The WBBL has been important for the development of women's cricket in Australia, providing paid contracts, television coverage and a pathway for emerging players. It has also served as a model for other countries, including the Women's Premier League in India, and for the creation of other women's franchise leagues. Overseas players regularly join the competition, making it a place where the world's top women's players compete against each other week after week.

The competition has also helped to change how women's cricket is broadcast in Australia, with matches shown on national television and online. Crowds at many matches have grown since the early seasons, and the league has become a major part of the sporting summer. Young players across Australia now see the WBBL as a realistic professional career, something that was much harder to imagine before 2015.