"Probably the best competition in the world" - How the Women's Big Bash came to stand on its own

EXCLUSIVE - Primetime television slots, an extraordinary national side, an ever-burgeoning women's game: Big Bash chief Alistair Dobson tells NICK FRIEND why the WBBL can thrive as a standalone tournament

There is a legitimate argument that the Women’s Big Bash is now the world’s most impressive franchise competition.

Five years into its existence, it stands out on its own, on its own two feet, as a standalone event. The concentration of the world’s best players is, perhaps, more condensed here than anywhere else, regardless of gender.

That, in part, is because of a remarkable Australian team – a recently unbeatable unit, a side that does not lose, that alters history, a squad with an unrivaled, unprecedented depth. But then, that is also entirely the point. In essence, the best players in the world are Australian and, thus, their domestic T20 league is full of world-beaters.

And on Friday night, Sydney Sixers took on Sydney Thunder in a clash that demonstrated exactly that.

The first ball was bowled by Shabnim Ismail, the South African – palpably one of the world’s best. Facing up to it was Ellyse Perry, not just the finest player of her era, but the greatest of any epoch – better than the world has witnessed and, perhaps, the best that it will ever see.

At the other end, stood Alyssa Healy, a world record holder after taking Sri Lanka for 148 singlehandedly in a T20I already this season. When she was finally dismissed here – off the bowling of Nida Dar, a trailblazer in her own right as the first Pakistani woman to play in an international league, she was replaced by Ashleigh Gardner.

The off-spinning allrounder may just be the cleanest striker of a cricket ball in the women’s game. Her side’s dominance was such that Marizanne Kapp, the sole overseas player picked by Perry’s Sixers, only entered the fray with 20 balls to go.

Even as Thunder fell well short, they paraded a top order that included New Zealand’s Rachel Priest and the legendary Australian Alex Blackwell, alongside Rachael Haynes, a former Australia captain.

And while that was all going on, there was Phoebe Litchfield, who might just be the embodiment of what this is all truly about. A left-handed batter, she is just 16 years old. And yet, she more than held her own, making 26 at better than a run-a-ball in an ultimately futile cause. She is the result of a terrific, ambitious setup.

Sure, it’s only one game – a clash that will always deliver, a local derby between two franchises built up with their own identities; people have chosen a side. But, on a high-pressure night for the present – and future – of the women’s game in Australia, this delivered.

A Friday night game in the primetime slot, live on Channel Seven and Fox Cricket throughout the nation. You would struggle to find a greater statement of committed intent.

^{Sydney Sixers took on Sydney Thunder in the first game of the standalone competition}

It isn’t simply this way for the sake of it, though. This, a standalone tournament, makes sense. “We have had certain research done at different times during the cricket season and there were times in the last cricket season when two of the top three favourite Big Bash players were actually women,” Alistair Dobson, head of Big Bash Leagues at Cricket Australia, tells The Cricketer.

“When you’re putting the men’s and women’s leagues up against each other, the role that the women’s players like Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy have as high-profile cricketers is on a par with some of the bigger-name men’s cricketers.

“That comes with both of them being absolute quality cricketers, but also how engaging they are as people and as athletes and their ability to connect so authentically with kids. It has made them really popular. They certainly create such a visible, aspirational pathway that has been a big player in the growth of girls playing cricket.

“It’s not a traditional time of year for Big Bash cricket, so our ability to generate awareness and interest at this time of year is a little new for us from a Big Bash sense and for our clubs in terms of their brands in the market.

“But when you’ve got athletes as high-profile and as popular as the women’s cricketers in Australia, we are confident, but time will tell.”

The number of girls playing the sport in Australia grew by 14 percent last year; 30 percent of all cricketers in the country now are female. They are statistics that fall in line with the wider commitment of Cricket Australia to the women’s game.

It renders a standalone women’s franchise competition “a natural step”, Dobson believes. It is the next stride forward on an impressive pathway.

A parental leave policy was introduced earlier this month. Players who become pregnant will now be able to move to a non-playing role until the birth of their child, while being eligible for 12 months of paid parental leave. They will also be guaranteed an extension to their contract for the following contract year, in line with their contractual arrangements.

Meanwhile, players who act as primary carers will be given transport assistance until the child is four years of age. Such support will include flights, accommodation and travel expenses.

“Were a woman cricketer to become pregnant, it typically signalled the end of their career,” said Alistair Nicholson, chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association.

“The travesty of this is that so many great athletes have not been given the chance to reach their true potential, denying the rest of us the opportunity to enjoy and admire their talent.

“It is a vitally important policy – one that is part of a broader story worth telling because of the messages it sends.”

The message it sends is the same message that is visible through the governing body’s decision to top up Meg Lanning’s national team’s earnings at the T20 World Cup. Their prize money will be increased to ensure parity with the men’s equivalent winnings. Similarly, men and women now share the same base hourly rate as professional cricketers.

“All these things are linked, they are all part of the same story,” Dobson adds. That story is the tale of the women’s game in Australia – the national team, the Women’s Big Bash and the recreational game beneath the domestic structure.

It is no surprise at all that it has led to global superiority on the field. Australia have won their last 18 ODIs – a record in the women’s game. They have not lost in the format for 19 months.

^{Ellyse Perry starred with bat and ball in the first game of the season}

“[We want to set] new benchmarks for women’s cricket,” Perry told The Cricketer after she had dominated the Women’s Ashes.

“For us, that’s our blank canvas – to really have a look at where we want to take things and how motivated we are. There’s plenty of scope within the game to do that at the moment. And that is a really cool thing.”

Dobson remains relatively new to his role; he arrived from the Australian Football League, where he was a senior marketing manager, in May. Having witnessed from afar the rise in standard and commercial value of the WBBL over the last few years, he is confident of a successful transition away from the men’s competition.

“We are really excited by the move to a standalone season,” he says. “It has been probably a couple of years in the making in terms of gradually separating the women’s games from the men’s games.”

Last year saw a gradual move towards what has followed this year; several standalone weekend festivals were incorporated. This year, in essence, marks a radical extension of that. There are six games this weekend, seven the next.

 

“The opportunity to showcase the quality of competition in women’s cricket in Australia on its own away from a lot of other cricket is really exciting,” Dobson explains.

One senses that this is crucial, especially with the fillip of a T20 World Cup early next year. The next two months can act as a high-profile whetting of appetites for what is to come. It also creates a longer Big Bash season rather than a short, intense burst, where games – men’s and women’s – were left bursting out at the seam.

“It all stems from the quality of the national team, who are an extraordinary cricket team,” he stresses. Lanning’s side will be overwhelming favourites to win the T20 crown on home soil.

“And also, largely the result of great development programs and talent programs that we have across the country that are now creating such amazing cricketers.

“For the entire national team to then be participating in a domestic league alongside the best players from around the world probably sets it up as the best cricket competition in the world – men’s or women’s. That definitely warrants as much prominence and profile as we can give it.”

^{Australia have won 18 consecutive ODIs}

It is a bold claim, but one with considerable merit. Broadcast partners have certainly been convinced; audience figures in last year’s standalone matches were up on previous years.

This time, where primetime slots have, in the past, inevitably fallen at the feet of the men’s fixtures, the standalone competition has given the women’s game a chance to rectify that, starting with Friday’s opener.

Channel Seven and Fox Cricket have also committed to creating additional content in order to maximise the competition’s potential; Mel Jones is co-hosting the first ever dedicated Women’s Big Bash cricket show.

“All the indicators are there in terms of interest in the players, attendances across WBBL and women’s international games, our TV audience and also our social platforms,” Dobson explains.

“We think all the indicators are there, while also acknowledging there are a few new elements there this year, which will be new to all of us in terms of so many standalone games and festival weekends and high-profile broadcast slots. We’ll be watching with a lot of interest.”

The outlook, though, is enormously positive. It all leads nicely into the T20 World Cup in February, before the Women’s Big Bash comes around again.

“Certainly, we are not suggesting that we’ll achieve everything that we want to in year one,” Dobson stresses.

“These things always take a number of years to settle in and create habit amongst fans and regularity in scheduling and viewership. But we are confident we’ll get off to a good start this year and continue to grow over the next few.”

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