The MCG and the SCG will host standalone regular season Women’s Big Bash League matches for the first time this year in a move aimed at boosting the status of the women’s competition.
Previously WBBL matches were only held at the biggest stadiums as part of double-header fixtures with men’s teams and for finals.
The BBL’s general manager, Alistair Dobson, said the move was the natural progression for the league “to have the best players in the world playing in the best cricket venues in the world”.
“Clubs, players and fans will benefit from more home games in each market and each team featuring at home in the first nine days of the tournament.”
The SCG and MCG fixtures will be the first standalone women’s matches at the stadiums, outside of the T20 World Cup, since 2017.
The changes for Australia’s domestic women’s cricket league stem from Cricket Australia’s broader strategy to increase the professionalism of the competition, rather than being driven by viewer numbers or ticket sales.
But the announcement comes as the Women’s Ashes consistently attracts crowds of more than 20,000, including a record-breaking attendance at Lord’s for the third T20 of the series.
The WBBL will hope to ride the wave of Women’s Ashes support when it starts in October.
Other changes to the schedule include more fixtures at Adelaide Oval and an increase to 25 night matches.
Matches played at neutral venues have also been cut down from 24 to 10, with the goal of eventually moving to a full home-and-away season, after players expressed frustration at playing in front of small crowds for one-off games.
Players in the ninth edition of the WBBL will be paid more, Dobson said, with team salary caps doubling and top players potentially earning more than $100,000. It will also feature the league’s first overseas player draft.
The 2023-24 season will open with the Sydney Sixers facing the Melbourne Stars on 19 October at North Sydney Oval, before the final is played on 2 December.
