WBBL 4 to have stand-alone final
The final of the women’s T20 league in Australia, which used to be held as a double-header with the men’s event, will for the first time next season move to its own slot.
The top-ranked team from the group stage will get a chance to host it. So, should they get past the semi-final, they will have the advantage of playing in front of home crowds.
The Windies Women captain extends a grand welcome to the Caribbean to all the fans and players.
What’s more, from its fifth season, the WBBL will move to being a fully stand-alone event, as women’s cricket continues to step out of the shadows of the men’s game.
The growing interest and potential for women’s cricket worldwide was indicated in the International Cricket Council’s recent market research project.
The results showed that two-thirds of cricket fans are interested in women’s cricket (68%) and the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup (65%). In addition, 70% of fans want to see more live coverage of women’s cricket.
The ICC Head of Media Rights, Broadcast and Digital speaks about the global market research project.
All matches of the ICC Women’s World T20 in the Caribbean will be broadcast live to “maintain the momentum and focus on women’s cricket”. And just a week later, fans can also watch more domestic T20 matches at Australia’s WBBL, where top cricketers will feature alongside domestic talent.
As many as 23 matches will be on TV, up from 12 last year, with the others streamed by Cricket Australia. It will set the tone for the following edition of the ICC Women's World T20 in 2020 in Australia.
The tournament begins on 1 December, a week after the ICC Women’s World T20 final on 24 November.
The opening weekend will feature four matches with all eight clubs competing, with the final on Australia Day, 26 January 2019.