The seventh edition of WBBL is all set to start on October 14 and this year is going to be an exciting year for the players as well as the fans. Australia’s fan-favorite tournament WBBL will also see fans returning to the stadiums and the games being played once again in all six states.
Cricket Australia just announced that all the 59 games will be available for free to watch and 47 of them will be televised for fans.
The WBBL cricket festival will start with a grand weekend start in Sydney where all the eight teams will play their first games and will conclude on November 27, the venue yet to be confirmed. The opening game will be played between the Melbourne Stars and Sydney Sixers at the North Sydney Oval stadium.
#WBBL07 Schedule Announced.
Matches to be played from 14th Oct to 27th November.
A record number of matches will be televised this year.
This is huge for women’s cricket in Australia. Congratulations @WBBL @AusWomenCricket 🙌😍 pic.twitter.com/FxlLq6dpy7
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 8, 2021
The Australian fans will be able to watch all 59 matches live and free on either the Seven Network or cricket.com.au, while a record number of 47 games will be televised for the fans to enjoy the super exciting and nail-biting WBBL matches.
Of those 47, 24 will be televised on free-to-air on Seven Network and simulcast on Foxtel, while the remaining 23 games will be shown on Foxtel and Kayo Sports and also live-streamed on cricket.com.au. the other 12 games will be streamed live on cricket.com.au, while games will also be broadcast on ABC Radio.
The 47 games, 11 more than last year, will have better quality and more cameras at the ground at more angles, giving a better television experience. The WBBL spectators have increased since the inception of WBBL. In the first edition of WBBL in 2015, only 10 matches were televised.
The tournament will start at the North Sydney Oval then all the eight teams will move around all the 6 states in the course of 5 weeks, with matches being played at the WACA Ground, Metricon Stadium, Junction Oval, Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide, Lilac Hill in Perth, Blundstone Arena, the University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston, Blacktown International Sportspark, Centennial Park Oval in Nuriootpa and Mackay’s Great Barrier Reef Arena.
The Gold Coast’s Metricon Stadium will host WBBL matches for the first time. They will act as the home ground of the Brisbane Heat club as their original venue Allan Border Field is under redevelopment.
Even though the fixtures are announced, the venues may be shuffled because of the recent COVID-19 outbreaks in Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, and Queensland and there may be some crowd restrictions.
“We’re also delighted to take the competition back to our passionate and loyal fans around the country provided it is safe to do so,” Cricket Australia’s head of the Big Bash, Alistair Dobson, said.