WBBL PREVIEW
Follow UsThe summer of T20 cricket is officially beginning in the biggest home of cricket in the Southern Hemisphere. The momentous 10th season of the Women’s Big Bash League is going to start from tomorrow, October 27. Many top women’s T20 stars from around the globe would be playing for the eight teams in the competition.
Interestingly, three games would be played on the first day itself to announce the tournament's big-scale return, culminating with the rematch of the last WBBL final between the Adelaide Strikers and Brisbane Heat at the iconic Adelaide Oval.
That certainly proves to be an exciting clash as many interesting narratives are waiting to be fulfilled by so many teams; however, the one most anticipated would be for the Strikers, who can achieve the historic feat of three WBBL titles in a row.
So what’s new this WBBL
Smriti Mandhana (Adelaide Strikers), Marizanne Kapp (Melbourne Stars), Nadine de Klerk (Brisbane Heat), Lizelle Lee (Hobart Hurricanes), Hayley Matthews (Melbourne Renegades), Sophie Devine (Perth Scorchers), Amelia Kerr (Sydney Sixers), and Chamari Athapaththu (Sydney Thunder) were the pre-signings for the teams this year.
However, with the India and New Zealand women involved in an ODI series in India will miss the start, and then later England and South Africaplayers might miss the end part of the tournament due to their bilateral commitments.
Apart from that, a third umpire would be available for every game this season, and as many as 33 out of the total 43 games (including the knockouts) will have the Decision Review System (DRS) available for the teams. The number is significantly up from 41% during the WBBL 2023-24 season. The decision has come about after controversies related to the decisions which would have otherwise involved third-umpires went wrong.
In the 10 games where it won’t be available, the TV umpire will rule on line calls like runouts and stumpings.
Additionally, an innings timer will also be in place, where 73 minutes would be given to each team to bowl their 20 overs. This means that after the 73 minutes are over in an innings, the fielding teams must push one fielder inside the 30-yard circle for all the remaining balls until the 20 overs are completed or the batting team gets all out.
Who are the Indian Players to look out for
While the Indian men aren’t allowed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to participate in the overseas T20 leagues, the Indian women are busy making the most of the opportunity in the upcoming Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) season.
Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Yastika Bhatia, Shikha Pandey, and Dayalan Hemalatha got picked in the overseas draft of WBBL 2024 conducted on September 1. Smriti Mandhana was already included in the Adelaide Strikers as a pre-draft signing, which means that as many as six Indian women will be participating in the upcoming edition of Australia’s premier women’s domestic T20 league.
The Melbourne Stars selected Deepti whom performed brilliantly in the Hundred for the London Spirit team, picking up eight wickets and scoring 212 runs at a strike rate of 132.5 in eight matches.
She played a key role in Spirit’s maiden title-winning campaign, even winning the final with a six. She will join her Spirit teammate Meg Lanning at the Stars in the WBBL. Along with Lanning, Deepti would have the wicket-keeper batter Yastika to give her company, as the Stars also picked her.
Apart from Deepti, Jemimah was the other Indian to get picked in the draft's first round after being selected by the Brisbane Heat. She’ll be accompanied by her Trinbago Knight Riders and India teammate pacer Shikha Pandey, who the Heat has also picked despite being out of the Indian national set up for some time now.
Meanwhile, allrounder Hemalatha, who has recently played in the top-order for the Indian side and bowls effective off-spin, was picked by the Perth Scorchers. She'll join her Gujarat Giants skipper Beth Mooney at the Scorchers, who was quite impressed with her performances at WPL 2024.
19 Indians had nominated themselves for the draft, including skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and the Women’s Premier League’s (WPL) purple cap winner Shreyanka Patil. However, they failed to entice any of the eight teams in the tournament.
Who are the other big players to look out for
Annabel Sutherland certainly has to be the top on that list. The Australian allrounder was on fire in the T20 World Cup despite her team falling short, and now her stocks in the world of women’s cricket have risen further with the Melbourne Stars making her their skipper for this season as Lanning took a step back. Her batting abilities have only grown after her famous double hundred in a Test, which has been followed by some spectacular performances for Australia and in the Hundred for the Northern Supercharges.
Another Australian player to look forward to this season is certainly young Phoebe Litchfield. The Sydney Thunder made the 21-year-old left-handed batter their captain, making her the youngest skipper in WBBL history. Her batting has gone through the roof lately, with some highly impactful and enterprising innings down the order for Australia.
Apart from the Aussies, Deandra Dottin’s power-packed return for the Renegades would be awaited with a lot of anticipation, as she showed that there’s a lot of cricket left in her in the Women’s T20 World Cup in UAE. Along with her, Shabnim Ismail and Chamari Athapaththu for the Thunder would be the veteran to look out for this season.
Regarding new faces in the WBBL, India’s Yastika and Hemalatha along with Ireland’s Orla Prendergast would certainly draw a lot of eyeballs this season.
Oh, and the Perth Scorchers have drafted an Indonesian allrounder, Ni Made Putri Suwandewi, in their team. So definitely look out for her.
How are the squads looking like
Adelaide Strikers: Jemma Barsby, Darcie Brown, Maggie Clark, Ellie Johnston, Eleanor Larosa, Katie Mack, Smriti Mandhana (India), Anesu Mushangwe, Tahlia McGrath (c), Bridget Patterson, Maddie Penna, Orla Prendergast (Ireland), Megan Schutt, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa)
Brisbane Heat: Bonnie Berry, Nadine de Klerk (South Africa), Sianna Ginger, Lucy Hamilton, Nicola Hancock, Grace Harris, Laura Harris, Jess Jonassen, Charli Knott, Shikha Pandey (India), Grace Parsons, Georgia Redmayne, Jemimah Rodrigues (India) Mikayla Wrigley, Lauren Winfield-Hill (replacement player, England).
Melbourne Stars: Meg Lanning, Rhys McKenna, Ines McKeon, Sasha Moloney, Sophie Reid, Deepti Sharma (India), Yastika Bhatia (India), Sophie Day, Tess Flintoff, Kim Garth, Maisy Gibson, Hasrat Gill, Liv Henry, Marizanne Kapp (South Africa), Annabel Sutherland
Perth Scorchers: Chloe Ainsworth, Stella Campbell, Piepa Cleary, Maddy Darke, Dayalan Hemalatha (India), Sophie Devine (New Zealand), Amy Edgar, Mikayla Hinkley, Ebony Hoskin, Amy Jones (England), Alana King, Carly Leeson, Lilly Mills, Beth Mooney, Chloe Piparo, Ni Made Putri Suwandewi (Associate, Indonesia)
Hobart Hurricanes: Nicola Carey, Zoe Cooke, Heather Graham, Ruth Johnston, Lizelle Lee (South Africa), Hayley Silver-Holmes, Tabatha Saville, Amy Smith, Lauren Smith, Molly Strano, Rachel Trenaman, Chloe Tryon (South Africa), Elyse Villani, Callie Wilson, Danni Wyatt-Hodge (England) Kathryn Bryce (Associate, Scotland), Suzie Bates (replacement player, New Zealand).
Melbourne Renegades: Alice Capsey (England), Sarah Coyte, Emma de Broughe, Josie Dooley, Deandra Dottin (West Indies), Nicole Faltum, Ella Hayward, Milly Illingworth, Sara Kennedy, Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Sophie Molineux, Georgia Prestwidge, Linsey Smith (ENG), Naomi Stalenberg, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham, Courtney Webb, Tara Norris (Associate, USA)
Sydney Thunder: Georgia Adams (England), Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Sam Bates, Ella Briscoe, Hannah Darlington, Sienna Eve, Saskia Horley, Shabnim Ismail (South Africa), Sammy-Jo Johnson, Heather Knight (England), Anika Learoyd, Phoebe Litchfield, Claire Moore, Taneale Peschel, Georgia Voll, Tahlia Wilson
Sydney Sixers: Hollie Armitage (England), Caoimhe Bray, Maitlan Brown, Erin Burns, Mathilda Carmichael, Lauren Cheatle, Sophie Ecclestone (England), Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Isabella Malgioglio, Kate Pelle, Ellyse Perry, Kate Peterson, Courtney Sippel. Sarah Bryce (Associate, Scotland).
Where and when to watch the WBBL
WBBL will be streamed live on Disney + Hotstar in India, and on the telecast, you can enjoy it on Star Sports Select. In Australia, the viewers can watch all matches live and free on either Channel 7 or Foxtel and Kayo.
Here is the schedule of all the matches. Meanwhile, you can play fantasy cricket based on the WBBL on the cricket.com app. Download the App here.
