WBBL to start October 14, Sydney Thunder to launch title defence against Adelaide Strikers

The Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) is scheduled to start on October 14 at North Sydney Oval with Sydney Sixers facing off against Melbourne Stars in the seventh edition of the world's premier female domestic T20 tournament.

On October 16 the defending champions Sydney Thunder will take on Adelaide Strikers as they attempt to defend their title and win a third WBBL trophy.

WBBL format for season seven

The league will have its usually 59 game format and will be taken back to the fans around the country this time with the matches to return to metro and regional venues in all six states as the schedule reverts to its national, festival-based structure after the WBBL season six was played entirely in a biosecure hub in Sydney.

A three-game, top four Finals series remains. The Finals series matches will be played on November 23 and November 24 with the final itself scheduled to take place at primetime following the first day of the historic men's Test between Australia and Afghanistan in Hobart.

Alistair Dobson, Cricket Australia's General Manager of Big Bash Leagues said in a statement that "Like all sporting leagues, we raming conscious of the need to be agile in response to the challenges of the pandemic. This schedule provides us with significant flexibility should we need to pivot, and the lessons of WBBL season six and KFC BBL season ten stand us in good stead should we need to do so."

Melbourne Stars looking forward to playing in front of fans

Melbourne Stars will be playing in front of their home fans for the first time in nearly 700 days when this year's WBBL season gets underway in October.

Melbourne Stars' skipper Meg Lanning was quoted by their website saying that she was looking forward to seeing fans in gree again. "It's exciting to see the fixtures finally unveiled for what will be another fantastic edition of the WBBL. I think one of the most exciting things for us as players is the potential to have crowds back and especially for our fans in Melbourne. We really want to perform well and hopefully take that last step that we missed out on in last season's final," Lanning said.

A record 47 matches are to be broadcasted nationally on television this year, almost a five-fold increase since the league's inception seven years ago.

(Image Credits: Women's Big Bash League Twitter)