History in the making - rebel WBBL|05 to stand alone
For the first time in its history, the fifth instalment of the rebel Women's Big Bash League will be standalone in 2019/20 with seven festival weekends of cricket confirmed in today's unveiling of the fixture.
Click here for the full fixture
In what will be an enormous summer of cricket, the WBBL will lead into the remainder of the Australian Women's Cricket Team home summer, followed by the history making ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 Australia in February.
Speaking on the fixture announcement, Cricket Australia Executive General Manager Fan Engagement Anthony Everard said:
"This is monumental for the women's game," he said.
"The players showed that last year with more totals of over 150 than the first previous three seasons of the rebel WBBL combined, all culminating into an incredible standalone finals festival weekend.
"Moving the entire tournament to its own standalone period is the first step towards achieving that ultimate goal of being the best women's league in the world, giving the world's best female cricketers from across the globe the platform to show fans what they are capable of."
The tournament will build on the momentum from WBBL|04 which showcased some incredible cricket, including two semi-finals that were on a knife's edge by the last ball of the match.
Click here to relive the WBBL|04 semi-finals
The final attracted a record-breaking television audience of 479,000 across Seven and Fox Cricket, in addition to a sold-out crowd at Drummoyne Oval in Sydney where Beth Mooney inspired the Brisbane Heat to their inaugural rebel WBBL crown.
"It's something we've been building towards and last year's final series has proved that the rebel WBBL is ready to stand on its own two feet," Everard said.
"The volume of televised content nearly doubled last season with the 23 broadcast matches averaging 213,000 on Seven and Fox Cricket.
"To build on this, fans will have a more consistent broadcast offering this season with seven consecutive festival weekends around the country broadcast live, with all remaining matches streamed on cricket.com.au.
"Festival weekends will also give families the best chance to come and experience the game all around the country."
ENDS
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WBBL|05
The season will commence under lights at North Sydney Oval on October 18 and end with the Grand Final on Sunday December 8. There will be seven festival weekends, with the remaining matches played across the country.
Click here for the full 59 game schedule:
Sydney Festival Weekend | North Sydney Oval – October 18-20
Brisbane Festival Weekend | AB Field – October 26-27
Perth Festival Weekend | WACA – November 1-3
Adelaide Festival Weekend | Karen Rolton Oval – November 9-10
Sydney Festival Weekend | Drummoyne Oval – November 15-17
Hobart Festival Weekend | Blundstone Arena - November 22-24
Melbourne Festival Weekend | CitiPower Centre at Junction Oval - November 30 – December 1
Each team will play 14 matches with the finals festival weekend hosted by the top ranked team, featuring the top four playing off in semi-finals before the grand final on Sunday 8 December.
23 matches will be broadcast on Seven, Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports, with the remaining available on cricket.com.au.
Each team will play 14 matches, with the top four playing off in semi-finals before the grand final which will be hosted by the top ranked team.
For further information contact:
Josh Marton CA Communications
M: +61 410 651 251
