WBBL|12 guide: teams, dates and finals
Hobart defend their first title over 43 games in 38 days, and clubs now sign overseas players directly. What to know before the Women's Big Bash League starts.
The 12th season of the Women's Big Bash League starts on Thursday 29 October 2026 and runs for 38 days, finishing with the final on Saturday 5 December. There are 43 matches in all: 40 in the regular season and three finals. The Hobart Hurricanes start as defending champions after beating the Perth Scorchers by eight wickets in the WBBL|11 final at Bellerive Oval in December 2025, the club's first title.
WBBL|12 has its own window again, finishing a week before BBL|16 starts on 12 December. Our Big Bash League explainer covers how the men's competition works, and the 2026-27 summer schedule lists the international fixtures around it.
The eight teams and their home grounds
The WBBL uses the same eight clubs as the men's league, but most of them play their home games at smaller grounds.
| Team | City | Main WBBL|12 home ground |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Strikers | Adelaide | Karen Rolton Oval (plus one game at Adelaide Oval) |
| Brisbane Heat | Brisbane | Allan Border Field |
| Hobart Hurricanes | Hobart | Ninja Stadium (Bellerive Oval) |
| Melbourne Renegades | Melbourne | Junction Oval, St Kilda |
| Melbourne Stars | Melbourne | Junction Oval, St Kilda |
| Perth Scorchers | Perth | WACA Ground |
| Sydney Sixers | Sydney | North Sydney Oval |
| Sydney Thunder | Sydney | Drummoyne Oval |
Junction Oval now has permanent floodlights, so the two Melbourne clubs can play home games at night there for the first time. The Stars, the Renegades and the Thunder each get an extra game in their home city, and the number of matches at neutral venues has dropped to four, down from seven in WBBL|11.
Opening week and the dates to know
The season opens with a double-header at Junction Oval on 29 October. The Melbourne Renegades play the Sydney Thunder at 3.40pm AEDT, and the Melbourne Stars play the Hobart Hurricanes under lights from 7.10pm, the first WBBL match played under lights at the ground. Seven of the eight teams play at home on the first weekend, and every state hosts at least one game in the opening week.
- Saturday 31 October: the Strikers host the Stars at Karen Rolton Oval, then the Scorchers play the Renegades at the WACA Ground.
- 2 November: the Stars host the Scorchers at Junction Oval on the night before Melbourne Cup Day.
- Wednesday 4 November: the Hurricanes play their first game in Hobart since winning the title, against the Renegades at 7.10pm.
- Sunday 8 November: the first Sydney derby, at North Sydney Oval.
- Friday 20 November: the Strikers play the Renegades at Adelaide Oval in prime time.
- Sunday 22 November: the first Melbourne derby, at night at Junction Oval.
- Saturday 28 November: the second Melbourne derby in the afternoon, the first time the Melbourne Mace is contested in the WBBL, and the second Sydney derby at Drummoyne Oval at night.
- Sunday 29 November: the regular season ends with a double-header at Karen Rolton Oval, the Heat against the Scorchers and then the Strikers against the Hurricanes.
None of the four derbies clash with an international match. Cricket Australia has scheduled 25 games in prime time, up from 22 last season, which is more than half the fixture.
Format and finals
Each team plays ten regular-season matches, and the top four on the table go through to the finals. The WBBL finals work differently from the men's competition, with three games instead of four. The team that finishes first goes straight to the final and gets to host it.
- The Knockout, Tuesday 1 December: third plays fourth, at the home ground of the third-placed side. The loser is out.
- The Challenger, Thursday 3 December: the winner of the Knockout plays the team that finished second, for a place in the final.
- The Final, Saturday 5 December: the top team hosts the winner of the Challenger.
Because the venues depend on the final ladder, the finals grounds will only be confirmed at the end of the regular season. Last season the system worked as intended for the Hurricanes, who topped the table and then hosted the final, while the Scorchers came through from third.
Squad news and overseas players
The overseas player draft has been scrapped. Clubs have gone back to signing international players directly, the system the league used before 2022, and there is no minimum number of overseas players, so a club could field an all-Australian side if it wanted.
The Sydney Sixers have had the biggest change. Alyssa Healy has retired from all cricket, and the club has signed the English pair Alice Capsey, from the Renegades, and Sophia Dunkley, alongside New Zealand's Amelia Kerr. Maddy Darke joined from the Scorchers but has a stress fracture and will miss the season. Matthew Mott moved to coach the club's men's side, and Peter Clarke has taken over the women's team.
At the Stars, Annabel Sutherland has stepped down as captain and Meg Lanning leads the side. Marizanne Kapp left before the final year of her contract, and England off-spinner Charlie Dean replaces her, with Amy Jones and Dani Gibson returning. Richard Pyrah is the new head coach.
The Hurricanes will be without England's Nat Sciver-Brunt, who is sitting out after an injury-hit home summer. Their captain Elyse Villani has retired. Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Linsey Smith are back, and the West Indies all-rounder Chinelle Henry has joined from the Heat.
Elsewhere, England fast bowler Lauren Bell has signed with the Thunder for the full season, joining captain Phoebe Litchfield and Heather Knight, who retired from international cricket this year but is back for her fifth season at the club. The Thunder did not take up the option on Chamari Athapaththu's contract. The Renegades have the West Indies pair Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin plus South Africa's Chloe Tryon, under new coach Gavan Twining. The Strikers have Sophie Ecclestone, Laura Wolvaardt and Maia Bouchier, who came across from the Stars. The Scorchers have Devine and Freya Kemp, with Pakistan's Fatima Sana signed for the first eight games, and the Heat have Sarah Glenn and Ireland's Orla Prendergast.
How to watch in Australia
Every WBBL|12 match is live on Foxtel and the Kayo Sports streaming service. Seven and its 7plus app show 20 regular-season matches and all three finals live and free, and the other 20 regular-season games are exclusive to Fox Cricket. The club fixture pages mark which channel has each game.
Tickets have been on sale through the Big Bash website since August. The WBBL is one of several competitions running in late spring; our Australian sports calendar shows what else is on.
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