Women’s Big Bash League: A revolution for women
The Australian women’s domestic Twenty20 cricket league is called the Women’s Big Bash League (often referred to as the WBBL and, for sponsorship purposes, the Weber WBBL). The WBBL took the place of the Australian Women’s Twenty20 Cup, which was played from the 2007–2008 season through the 2014–2015 season.
Eight city-based franchises that are identically branded to the men’s Big Bash League are present in the league (BBL). Teams are made up of members of the current and former Australian national teams, the finest young players in the nation, and up to three marquee players from outside.
Since its debut, the league which at first ran concurrently with the BBL has steadily gained media attention and popularity. For the WBBL|05 seasons, the league adopted an entirely independent schedule.
How did it start?
It was announced at the beginning of 2014 that a global women’s Twenty20 league will be created using the Indian Premier League’s franchise system. The concept, which was spearheaded by former Australian bowler Lisa Sthalekar and Australian entrepreneur Shaun Martyn, envisioned six privately owned teams with players who made more than $US40,000 each season.
Early in June, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced that they would not release centrally contracted English players, dealing a setback to the idea. Cricket Australia (CA) also declared it would not support the WICL at the same time. Both groups raised alarm about the fact that a private firm, not a national cricket body, was in charge of organizing the competition.
The same eight city-based franchises from the Big Bash League are present in the competition. At least one team is present in the state capital of each state, with Sydney and Melbourne having two. Each of the first six championships has been won by one of the Sydney Thunder, Sydney Sixers, or Brisbane Heat.
