WBBL season schedule revealed: Every match for every club

The WBBL08 fixture has dropped — but not every club will be happy. Plus, contract rumbles on a pair of English superstars. Could one be on the move? SEE THE FULL FIXTURE

Star England internationals Heather Knight and Nat Sciver are set to join the WBBL again this season as the clubs celebrate a unique return to home grounds for the first time in three years with today’s official schedule launch.

News Corp can reveal England captain Knight will return to the Sydney Thunder for another season while Sciver is strongly linked to the Hobart Hurricanes after two seasons at the Melbourne Stars.

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The return of two of England’s biggest stars continues the WBBL’s claim to being the world’s premier women’s T20 tournament with this year’s series set to start on Thursday October 13 with the Heat and Sixers at Great Barrier Reef Arena.

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The fixture for WBBL08 has been released.

Australia’s unofficial home of women’s cricket will then host two double headers over the first weekend of the WBBL – Strikers v Sixers and Heat v Stars on Saturday; Renegades v Strikers and Sixers v Stars on Sunday.

Australian and Sixers player Alyssa Healy said: “It’s nice to be back after two seasons restricted with COVID … it’ll nice to see all the fans out in magenta again.”

“I absolutely love playing at North Sydney Oval, it’s good fun as a Sixers batter being able to take on the boundaries.

“Traditionally there has been some high scoring games there … it’s a great ground to bat at and to watch cricket.

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“The WBBL is the premier domestic competition in the world and has enabled us to attract some of the best international players.

“But with the WIPL potentially starting next year and The Hundred competition is it probably on us to keep revolutionising and keep evolving as a competition to make it an attractive product for the international players.

Alyssa Healy in action for the Sixers.

“And obviously make it highly lucrative as well. WBBL has been traditionally been really good at that and hopefully we can continue to see those players come.”

After two years of Covid bubbles the WBBL will return to 14 metro and regional venues for the 59 games – all broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo.

Every WBBL match has been scheduled to avoid any clash with the men’s T20 World Cup being played in Australia at the same time.

But what makes this season unique is the step away from traditional “home and away” scheduling, with more than half the games played in neutral interstate venues.

The Thunder are the only team in the competition that will get to play at least half of their games in a “home” venue of NSW or ACT.

Cross-town rivals the Sixers are worst off with just four games in Sydney while the Strikers and Hurricanes play just five times in their home states.

Nat Sciver is one of England’s best batters.

It is understood Cricket Australia – currently locked in a bitter war with free-to-air broadcaster Channel 7 – has adjusted the schedule to ensure Seven has their ideal choice of games and they are only played on weekends.

By playing weekend matches at the same venue, broadcasters can save on production costs.

Cricket Australia’s GM of Big Bash Leagues Alistair Dobson said the scheduling rewards fans far and wide who had been starved of cricket but maintained their passion for the game during the troubled years.

“There is so much to be celebrated about the WBBL, which is the world’s best cricket competition for women” he said.

“That celebration will once again be truly national, as we visit 14 venues across the country.”

Originally published as WBBL season schedule revealed: Every match for every club