Cricket Australia shift Women’s Big Bash entirely to Sydney due to border restrictions

The internal rift between Cricket Australia and Channel Seven over the quality of Australian summer attracted a lot of eyeballs and anxiety started creeping into the CA boardroom. Risking anything on the calendar was going to be huge and considering the star-power that WBBL holds, any disruption would have spelt a death knell.

Combined with the fact that WBBL was scheduled to be played across states, instead of a hub, had its own set of challenges. So rightfully, Cricket Australia decided to move the entire league to New South Wales province. As a matter of fact, Sydney had already been devised as a three-week hub during the competition - with matches scheduled at North Sydney Oval, Hurstville Oval and Blacktown International Sports Park. However, now the state will host the entire 59 games in the process, starting October 25. 

"We want to thank the NSW Government for their willingness to work together to deliver the WBBL|06 competition in Sydney. We are incredibly proud to deliver a full season of rebel WBBL|06 and would like to thank the NSW Government, our partners States & Territories Associations, the Australian Cricketers' Association as well as - in particular Cricket NSW - for rallying together at this challenging time to deliver a safe and successful tournament,” Alistair Dobson, the head of Big Bash Leagues, confirmed, reported Cricbuzz.

"We can achieve great things together and the spirit of cooperation has been truly uplifting. Thanks must also go to our broadcasters, partners, players and staff for their outstanding support as we navigate what has been a challenging period."

However, the Aussie women will get a chance to have their first crack at international cricket since the World T20 victory at MCG in March when the country will host New Zealand Women for three T20Is and as many ODIs later this month.