WBBL coup: Cricketers thrilled at move into ‘Big Bash village’ at Sydney Olympic Park
Twenty years ago Sydney’s Olympic Park was home to some of the world’s best athletes, so it’s little wonder that some of Australia’s finest cricketers have taken up residency. See who has moved in and why.
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Twenty years after the Sydney Olympic Games, world class athletes are moving back into Sydney Olympic Park.
Cricket Australia has announced that Women’s Big Bash League cricketers and staff will live and train within a “village” inside the precinct for the duration of the 2020/2021 season.
A full 59-game fixture will take place over five weeks, from October 25 to November 29.
Inside the WBBL village, all eight clubs must share Accor hotels, high-performance training facilities and restaurants.
Matches will be played predominantly at Sydney Showground Stadium and North Sydney Oval.
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Blacktown International Sports Park, Drummoyne Oval and Hurstville Oval will host the remaining contests.
Athletes will arrive in Homebush over the coming weeks and Sydney Sixers star Sarah Aley can’t wait to reunite with her teammates.
“To know we’ve got a set location, to know where we’re staying, to know that in a couple of weeks, we’ll all be together playing cricket, it’s really exciting,” Aley said.
“There’s a buzz around Sydney Olympic Park at the moment because of the anniversary, to now be living a similar athlete life to what they would have experienced, with a modern twist, it’s exciting for us players.”
The bowled admitted that living, eating and training so close to her opponents will be challenging.
“There’s a lot of rivalries, you usually only see each other on match day, or warming up before a game,” Aley said.
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“Bumping into each other in the corridors, it could add a bit more spice to matches, there might be some more sledging in the hotel than on the field, it’s going to be interesting, but everyone will have a lot of fun. Having time away from cricket will be really important too, everyone will have their own way to escape.”
CA is working with broadcasters to determine the location and timings of the WBBL|06 final series, but the body is hopeful they will secure prime time slots for the three matches.
Head of Big Bash Leagues at CA Alistair Dobson said the village will allow the WBBL and women’s cricket continue to grow.
“Last season was the biggest in the history of the women’s game and now, following on from the Commonwealth Bank ODI and T20I series in Brisbane, we’ll get to see the stars of our world champion Australian team in action during rebel WBBL|06” Dobson said.
“We’d like to thank the NSW Government, rebel, the Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Accor Hotels and our colleagues at Cricket NSW for their extraordinary collaboration to make this season happen.”
