Draft nominations, domestic stars to take centre stage as Cricket Australia announces BBL and WBBL season dates

The 13th edition of the marquee tournament, Big Bash League (BBL), is all set to begin on December 7, with the finals to be played on January 24. Notably, this is for the second time in the tournament’s history that the final of the competition will be played in the mid-week as Cricket Australia have a jam-packed schedule at that time of the season. Significantly, West Indies will be playing a day and night Test against the home team (Jan 25-29), and thus, the board has failed to find a suitable time for the final.

On the other hand, the brand-new season will also see a reduction in the number of matches. Only 40 games will be played in the league stage, followed by Qualifier 1, Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and the all-important final. 

“The dates of the KFC BBL season will again compliment the overall shape of this summer's cricket schedule and culminate with finals well within the school holidays,” said Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia's general manager of Big Bash Leagues.

“The start of the season will also present some unique opportunities to engage with communities, connect with fans and introduce exciting new initiatives, which will be announced in due course,” he added.

WBBL is to begin on October 19, finals to be played on December 2

The ninth edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) will begin on October 19, and unlike men’s, the women’s edition will not see any decrease in the number of matches. The schedule is expected to be out by the end of next month, and just like men’s, four teams will see qualifying for the next round, unlike five in previous seasons.

The coming season will also mark the inaugural draft in WBBL. Over 330 players all across the globe had already submitted their names for BBL last year, and Cricket Australia expects similar numbers for WBBL this season. 

“As we saw last year, the BBL overseas player draft injected significant excitement and interest into the global T20 market, and we look forward to seeing this extend to the WBBL this year,” Alistair Dobson said.