The Cricketer provides all the information you need ahead of the ninth edition of the women's T20 competition...
The ninth edition of the Women's Big Bash League, an eight-team T20 competition run by Cricket Australia.
WBBL09 starts on October 19 with Sydney Sixers hosting Melbourne Stars at North Sydney Oval. The group stage runs until November 26, with the final scheduled for December 2.
The eight sides face each other in a home and away round robin, with each team playing 14 fixtures. There are 10 neutral matches scheduled at different venues around the country.
The side at the top of the table at the end of the regular season qualifies directly for the final. The third and fourth-placed teams will contest an Eliminator, with the winner facing the second-placed side in the Challenger for a spot in the final.
All matches will feature a four-over powerplay (instead of six), with the batting team able to call for a two-over 'power surge' between the 11th and 20th overs, during which powerplay fielding restrictions will apply.
Adelaide Strikers are the defending champions [Mark Kolbe/Getty Images]
There are eight teams involved in WBBL09: Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder.
Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat are the most successful WBBL sides, having won two titles each. However the past two seasons have seen new winners, with Perth Scorchers winning WBBL07 and Adelaide Strikers winning WBBL08.
Sydney Sixers dominated the regular season of the WBBL, with key contributions with the bat from Suzie Bates, Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry, Ash Gardner, and Erin Burns. Gardner also claimed an impressive 23 wickets while spin partner Sophie Ecclestone and Lauren Cheatle picked up 20 and 16 wickets, respectively.
Sydney Sixers set a new WBBL record by winning 11 of their regular season games, with one match washed out and only two defeats.
In the final, they faced Adelaide Strikers, whose campaign was led by Laura Wolvaardt's 403 runs and Meghan Schutt's 27 wickets - the most in the competition. Deandra Dottin produced a player of the match-winning performance, scoring 52 not out and taking two crucial wickets as Strikers completed a 10-run victory.
Jess Jonassen's haul of 25 wickets helped Brisbane Heat to a third-place finish while Hobart Hurricanes also made the playoffs.
Despite Beth Mooney's competition-leading 434 runs, defending champions Perth Scorchers missed out on the playoffs.
Noteworthy individual performances included Healy's 107 not out against Perth Scorchers, the sole century of the season. Schutt became the first bowler to take six wickets in a WBBL match, finishing with remarkable figures of 6 for 19 against Sydney Thunder while Amanda-Jade Wellington took 5 for 8 for Adelaide Strikers against Melbourne Renegades.
Gardner was crowned player of the tournament while Melbourne Stars allrounder Tess Flintoff was named young player of the tournament.
Heather Knight, Sophie Devine and Harmanpreet Kaur are among the overseas players involved in WBBL09 [Getty Images]
The inaugural WBBL draft took place on September 3, with each team required to select two or three overseas players.
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews, who will lead Melbourne Renegades, is among the international players signed up for WBBL09. She will be joined by India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and England's Tammy Beaumont. South Africa's Chloe Tryon and New Zealand's Jess Kerr will feature for Sydney Sixers. Meanwhile, Hobart Hurricanes have secured the services of South Africa internationals Shabnim Ismail and Lizelle Lee.
The competition also boasts a strong presence of English players, with no fewer than 13 participating. They include Heather Knight, who will captain Sydney Thunder, and England internationals Alice Capsey, Maia Bouchier and Sophia Dunkley, who will be in action together for Melbourne Stars. Danielle Gibson and Georgia Adams will represent defending champions Adelaide Strikers.
Danni Wyatt has withdrawn from the competition due to fatigue, but Nat Sciver-Brunt will step in as her replacement for Perth Scorchers' final eight games. Additionally, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, has been signed as an overseas replacement player by Sydney Thunder.
Viewers in the UK can watch the action on Sky Sports, with the majority of matches being shown on Sky Sports Mix due to clashes with the Men's Cricket World Cup.
In Australia, Fox Sports will broadcast every match of the 2023 WBBL season with games to be shown live on Channel 501. Selected games will be available to watch on free-to-air television via Channel 7, including Thursday's opener.
Sky Sport New Zealand will broadcast the tournament in New Zealand.
In India, Sony Network will broadcast WBBL09 on Sony Six TV and mobile users can watch all the matches on the Sony Liv app.
Fans in South Africa will be able to tune into WBBL09 on SuperSport.
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