WBBL season begins with unpredictable field of eight teams

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 23 Oct, 06:38 · Archive

The 12th edition of Australia's women's cricket league begins next Thursday with a double-header in Melbourne. The competition will feature 43 games across 38 days, with eight teams competing for the title.

Perty Scorchers captain Sophie Devine told the Australian Associated Press at Friday's season launch in Sydney that the competition will be unusually unpredictable. She said any of the eight teams could win on their day, describing T20 cricket as a format where 'it only takes one person to change it'. The veteran New Zealand international highlighted the importance of winning home games and noted that the league's compressed schedule means form can shift rapidly.

Devine described the WBBL as 'the benchmark' competition for women's cricket in the short-format game, despite growing appeal of the UK's The Hundred tournament and the higher salaries offered by India's WPL. She pointed to the international talent spread across the league, including players from Australia's record-extending seventh T20 World Cup title won four months earlier.

How it is being reported

• 'The benchmark': stars hail WBBL ahead of new seasonScheduling and privatisation concerns will be forgotten when the 12th edition of the WBBL gets under way with a double-header in Melbourne next Thursday.Perth Now · 23 Oct, 06:14
• 'The benchmark': stars hail WBBL ahead of new seasonScheduling and privatisation concerns will be forgotten when the 12th edition of the WBBL gets under way with a double-header in Melbourne next Thursday.The West Australian · 23 Oct, 04:20

In this story: Sophie Devine · Perth Scorchers · Melbourne · Australia · New Zealand

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