Sydney Sixers star Alyssa Healy insists WBBL landscape has changed forever
ALYSSA Healy insists the WBBL landscape has changed forever after a bumper opening weekend of record totals and ratings bonanzas.
Women's sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Women's sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
ALYSSA Healy puts it simplest. Now that we’re paid professionals, watch us clear fences.
Among the most recognised names — and faces — in Australian women’s cricket, Healy insists the WBBL landscape has changed forever after a bumper opening weekend of record totals, ratings bonanzas and repeated ‘Watch The Ball’ warnings which, on big screens around the ground, now really do matter.
Tearing up North Sydney Oval like the Bears did back in, well, let’s say 1922, Healey’s Sixers scored impressive wins on both days of the opening weekend, with the diminutive opener herself blasting a quick-fire 49 on Sunday to beat arch rivals Thunder by six wickets.
Better, the win came only 24 hours after the reigning Big Bash premiers, at the same ground, set a new league record 4/242 against Melbourne Stars.
And that total, you should know, came only hours after Thunder became the first women’s side to break the magic 200 mark, in the opener against Melbourne Renegades.
Which suggests everything we know about WBBL, it’s changing right?
“Girls are clearing the boundary now with ease,” Healy insisted.
“They’re also batting really freely ... everyone is backing themselves more which is great to see.
“I’m not too sure if 200 will become a regular score but our coach had always said he wanted us to be the first. And while Thunder pipped us by a few hours, we were then able to blow that score out of the water.
“So I think 150 or 160 will become par now rather than the lower scores we’ve seen in the past.
“But the crowds love 200 so we’ll see how we go.”
And as for why it’s possible?
“Most of the girls playing Big Bash are professional cricketers,’’ Healy continued.
“So they can spend the time that they didn’t have previously in the gym, working on fitness, working on their batting or bowling, everything.
“Having that time is enabling us to become better cricketers and we’ve seen that out here this weekend.”
Didn’t we what?
On Saturday night, Sixers star Ashleigh Gardner smashed 114 against the Stars, a haul which included 10 sixes, while captain Ellyse Perry finished unbeaten on 91.
Perry also cleared the fence four times, one of which hit a young schoolboy watching on in the crowd.
Despite being hospitalised for treatment, the youngster was released late Saturday night, with both the Sixers and Cricket Australia monitoring his recovery.
Gardner, meanwhile, was strong again against Thunder on Sunday, scoring 47 off 35 deliveries.
Elsewhere, WBBL TV ratings also hit a record mark on Saturday night — with a peak TV audience of 629,000 and average of 400,000. To put this in perspective, the Sydney A-League derby drew a TV audience of 136K.
Asked about what now constituted a good score in WBBL, Thunder captain Alex Blackwell — who top scored for her side with 58 — said: “I think we’ve figured out this weekend that we have to recalculate.
“It’s been incredible. Larger totals are now something we need to expect.”