Mel Jones calls for national bodies to work with Women's Big Bash to avoid availability issues

The tournament’s placement this year has restricted the availability of top overseas talent; no Indian players took part in this fifth edition of the competition for the first time in its history

Former Australia great Mel Jones has encouraged cricket’s international governing bodies to work together to ensure that the best players in the world are able to take part in the Women’s Big Bash.

The competition is widely renowned as the premier T20 competition in the women’s game and this year has been given its own standalone position in the Australian domestic calendar, with the men’s equivalent beginning after its conclusion in December.

However, the tournament’s placement this year has restricted the availability of top overseas talent; no Indian players took part in this fifth edition of the competition for the first time in its history.

West Indies allrounder Stafanie Taylor played just two games in two days for Adelaide Strikers, before returning home for a bilateral series between her national side and India. She, therefore, has shared overseas duties with England’s Lauren Winfield.

In the past, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana have starred for Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes. Their absence was due to a conflicting international schedule.

“We need to find a way for the national bodies to work together and plan the international calendar out in advance a little bit more, so players know where they’re going to be 24 months in advance,” Jones told cricket.com.au.

“I think some of the other nations probably aren’t thinking outside of getting their national teams playing more, so then they don’t think about what else could be impacted [by their scheduling].”

^{Nat Sciver has been playing for new England Women's coach Lisa Keightley}

Nida Dar became the first Pakistani to play in an overseas franchise competition when she joined Thunder this year. Yet, a series between Pakistan and Bangladesh taking place at the same time meant that others from both nations were unavailable to join her.

Meanwhile, Heather Knight, Tammy Beaumont, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver, Fran Wilson, Winfield and Danni Wyatt will all leave their teams early to join up with England for their series against Pakistan in Malaysia.

They will be unable to take part in the final stages of the competition. Replacing them, however, is less than straightforward; in order to be eligible for the finals, a player must have played at some point during the group phase.

“You create heroes and a game plan and all of these things with a certain set of players, and then you lose them for finals, that’s pretty tough,” Jones, who recently joined Cricket Australia as a director, added.

“At the end of the day it’s down to the boards to plan ahead and make sure they’re supporting their players to earn more money and develop their games.”

The tournament has still featured several stars from around the globe, including New Zealand’s Sophie Devine and Lea Tahuhu, as well as South Africa’s Lizelle Lee and Mignon du Preez.

Subscribe to The Cricketer this Christmas and receive a £20 John Lewis voucher or Alastair Cook's autobiography. Claim your free gift here