FAQs - What's in store for you at WBBL 2026-27?

The competition starts with a double-header in Melbourne at the Junction Oval on Thursday with game one in the twilight and game two under the newly installed lights. The regular season runs from October 29 to November 29 before the finals take place on December 1, 3 and 5.

The tournament remains a 40-game season plus finals, in line with the BBL and fit it within the burgeoning women's cricket calendar. Each club will play ten games during the regular season.

The three-game finals format used since 2021 remains in place, with the top four teams from the regular season to qualify. The team that finishes top after the regular season will host the final on December 5. The third- and fourth-placed teams will meet in the Knockout on December 1 with the winner to travel and face the team that finished second on the ladder two days on December 3 in the Challenger for a place in the final.

Hobart Hurricanes won their first title last season in skipper Elyse Villani's final game. They were the dominant team of the season finishing top with seven wins and only two loses. In the final they restricted Perth Scorchers to 137 for 5 thanks to a disciplined team bowling performance before Lizelle Lee smashed 77 not out off 44 while Nat Sciver-Brunt made 35 from 27 as they marched to victory two-down with five overs to spare.

Adelaide Strikers: Maia Bouchier, Sophie Ecclestone, Anesu Mushangwe, Laura Wolvaardt
Brisbane Heat: Sarah Glenn, Orla Prendergast
Hobart Hurricanes: Chamari Athapaththu, Chinelle Henry, Linsey Smith
Melbourne Renegades: Deandra Dottin, Hayley Matthews, Chloe Tyron
Melbourne Stars: Charlie Dean, Dani Gibson, Amy Jones
Perth Scorchers: Sophie Devine, Fatima Sana
Sydney Sixers: Alice Capsey, Sophia Dunkley, Melie Kerr
Sydney Thunder: Lauren Bell, Nadine de Klerk, Heather Knight

India's women tour South Africa in December and there are no India players in the WBBL this season. The only Test starts on December 9 which means Laura Wolvaardt could miss the finals series for Strikers.

The squads

*Final signings to be confirmed

Adelaide Strikers Maia Bouchier, Darcie Brown, Emma de Broughe, Sophie Ecclestone, Ellie Johnston, Eleanor Larosa, Tahlia McGrath, Anesu Mushangwe, Bridget Patterson, Maddie Penna, Megan Schutt, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Ella Wilson, Laura Wolvaardt

Brisbane Heat Lily Bassingthwaighte, Bonnie Berry, Lucinda Bourke, Sianna Ginger, Sarah Glenn, Lucy Hamilton, Grace Harris, Charli Knott, Annie O'Neil, Orla Prendergast, Georgia Redmayne, Mikayla Wrigley

Hobart Hurricanes Chamari Athapaththu, Nicola Carey, Heather Graham, Ella Hayward, Chinelle Henry, Ruth Johnston, Lizelle Lee, Hayley Silver-Holmes, Amy Smith, Lauren Smith, Linsey Smith, Molly Strano, Rachel Trenaman, Callie Wilson,

Melbourne Renegades Deandra Dottin, Nicole Faltum, Tess Flintoff, Milly Illingworth, Sara Kennedy, Hayley Matthews, Sophie Molineux, Olivia Porter, Sophie Reid, Chloe Tyron, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham, Courtney Webb, Annie Wikman

Melbourne Stars Sophie Day, Charlie Dean, Kim Garth, Dani Gibson, Maisy Gibson, Amy Jones, Meg Lanning, Carly Leeson, Rhys McKenna, Indigo Noble, Georgia Prestwidge, Zoe Samuel, Naomi Stalenberg, Annabel Sutherland

Perth Scorchers Chloe Ainsworth, Sophie Devine, Amy Edgar, Mikayla Friday, Ebony Hoskin, Freya Kemp, Alana King, Katie Mack, Lilly Mills, Beth Mooney, Chloe Piparo, Fatima Sana, Ruby Strange

Sydney Sixers Caoimhe Bray, Maitlan Brown, Erin Burns, Alice Capsey, Lauren Cheatle, Sarah Coyte, Maddy Darke, Sophia Dunkley, Ashleigh Gardner, Elsa Hunter, Melie Kerr, Frankie Nicklin, Ellyse Perry, Courtney Sippel

Sydney Thunder Jemma Barsby, Sam Bates, Lauren Bell, Hannah Darlington, Nadine de Klerk, Lucy Finn, Hasrat Gill, Nicola Hancock, Laura Harris, Heather Knight, Anika Learoyd, Phoebe Litchfield, Georgia Voll, Tahlia Wilson

Stricter over-rate penalties will apply this season. As per previous seasons, a countdown timer will be in place for each innings with bowling teams required to complete their 20 overs in 78 minutes, 45 seconds. If they fail to do so and the timer expires, full powerplay conditions come into effect immediately for the remainder of the innings with only two players allowed outside the fielding restriction circle.

Much like previously, the MCG, the SCG, the Gabba and the Perth Stadium will not host matches this season. As they did last season, Strikers will play a match at the Adelaide Oval when they face Renegades on November 20 for a day-night contest.

The Junction Oval will host its first day-night match as part of a double-header where Renegades and Stars will launch the season on October 29 with respective home games.

Scorchers will play at a redeveloped WACA after construction of the ground was completed earlier this year. Crowds of around 5000 are expected at a ground that can now hold around 10,000 spectators.

Hayley Matthews returns to Renegades after missing last WBBL season following shoulder surgery. She starred in WBBL 10 to lead Renegades to their first title with 69 and two wickets in the final against Heat. Her absence was felt by Renegades, who missed the finals last season in a tame title defence. After leading West Indies to the T20 World Cup semi-finals, Matthews exploded with scores of 182 and 118 in last month's three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe.

Fatima Sana will become the second Pakistani to play in the WBBL after Nida Dar, who played in the 2019 edition. Sana, the Pakistan captain, will be available for the first eight matches of Scorchers' season having earlier this year become the first woman from her country to play in the Hundred. Sana has had a big year with both bat and ball, including 11 wickets at an economy rate of 6.95 at the T20 World Cup while she led Pakistan to the bronze medal at last month's Asian Games.

Lucy Hamilton has had a meteoric rise with her left-arm pace skills proving invaluable for Australia across formats. Her status was underlined when she returned from injury and earned an automatic recall for the T20I series against New Zealand despite the red-hot form of Megan Schutt in the Bangladesh ODIs. Hamilton looms as a talismanic figure for Heat, who need a spark after a winless season in WBBL 11.

Chloe Ainsworth is an emerging player of significant interest for the national selectors, underlined by securing her first Cricket Australia contract for the 2026-27 season. Boasting rapid pace, Ainsworth has been a key for the Scorchers attack since debuting as an 18-year-old during WBBL 09. Ainsworth has taken 40 wickets from 36 WBBL matches with an economy rate of 6.97, while she's also a hard-hitting batter. After recovering from a foot injury at the end of last domestic season, Ainsworth was in eye-catching form at the T20 Spring Challenge while she also claimed 2 for 10 for the Governor General XI against New Zealand at North Sydney Oval.

Sophia Dunkley will renew her potent opening partnership with Ellyse Perry after returning to Sixers on a one-year deal. Dunkley proved a shrewd pick up for Sixers last season, with more fireworks alongside Perry expected. She's enjoyed a strong year having scored 301 runs at 37.62 with a strike rate of 164.48 to help Trent Rockets win the Hundred. Dunkley performed strongly for England during the T20 World Cup and last month scored an ODI century against Ireland in Worcester.