Perth Scorchers captain Sophie Devine says any of the eight WBBL teams can win the title in the 12th season, which starts next Thursday. The 43-game tournament runs over 38 days. Devine described the league as the benchmark for franchise cricket, pointing to the strength of domestic players. Ellyse Perry said weekend fixtures help with school term scheduling. The opening match is Sydney Thunder against Melbourne Renegades on October 29, and the Hobart Hurricanes open their defence against the Melbourne Stars at Junction Oval, which has its first night games this season.
With no more T20 internationals until the Champions Trophy, Australia's women's players will turn to the Weber WBBL and franchise leagues. Captain Sophie Molineux said the squad rarely has time together before major tournaments, so individual planning is a priority. Australia won the T20 series against New Zealand 2-0 after the third match was washed out. Molineux said the team learnt lessons about its batting depth. The Champions Trophy has been brought forward to February after a schedule change, and the WBBL runs from October 29 to December 5.
Australia have won the women's T20 series 2-0 against New Zealand after the third match in Sydney was abandoned without a ball being bowled past the powerplay. Rain ended play at North Sydney Oval, with New Zealand at 2-11 when the players left the field. Australia retain the Rose Bowl trophy, which they have held for more than 26 years. The two sides meet again in a three-game one-day series in Canberra and Melbourne in March.
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Sydney Sixers have won their first T20 Spring Challenge title, beating the Perth Scorchers by 15 runs in Sydney. Erin Burns starred with bat and ball, scoring 41 and taking 1-21. Spinner Lilly Mills took 3-19 to restrict the Sixers' batting line-up, while Juliette Morton took 2-21 to swing the match back to the home side. The Sixers posted 8-149 and held Perth to 7-134. The win comes ahead of their WBBL|12 opener against Brisbane Heat on October 30.
Ashleigh Gardner hit a blazing 84 from 45 balls in the second T20I against New Zealand, helping Australia win by 40 runs at North Sydney Oval. It was her highest T20I score since February 2020. Gardner said the innings gave her confidence ahead of a busy summer, including her second season leading the Sydney Sixers and the Women's Premier League in India. She said she is adapting to her No.5 role and wants to play with freedom. The third T20I is on Thursday, October 22.
Australia retained the Rose Bowl with a 40-run win over New Zealand in the second Twenty20 at North Sydney Oval, taking a 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Ash Gardner's 84 from 45 balls led Australia to 6-167, and Georgia Wareham took 3-18 as New Zealand finished on 8-127. The result extended Australia's winning run to 12 T20 matches. Captain Sophie Molineux was credited by Gardner for building a positive team culture. The decisive third match is scheduled for Thursday.
Ashleigh Gardner hit 84 from 45 deliveries and took two wickets as Australia beat New Zealand by 40 runs in the second women's T20 international in Sydney. Australia posted 7-167 at North Sydney Oval, with Beth Mooney scoring 37. Georgia Wareham took 3-18 as New Zealand were restricted to 8-127. The win means Australia have retained the Rose Bowl with one match to play. The series finale is on Thursday night.
The Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers will play for the T20 Spring Challenge trophy on Wednesday. The Sixers beat Sydney Thunder by four wickets after Laura Harris hit 63 from 24 deliveries. Lauren Cheatle top-scored with an unbeaten 46 to guide the chase. In the other semi-final, Perth beat Adelaide Strikers by five wickets. Chloe Ainsworth took 3-17, and Chloe Piparo finished unbeaten on 57. Both teams are seeking their first title, as the Hobart Hurricanes won the first two editions.
Georgia Plimmer produced an unbeaten 85 from 68 balls against Australia at North Sydney Oval, the best T20 innings of her career. Her knock lifted New Zealand to 2-162 in the opening match, which Australia won by two wickets. The retirements of Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and Lea Tahuhu after the T20 World Cup have left the White Ferns searching for new leaders. Plimmer said the whole squad must share responsibility, not one player. She also pointed to fielding lapses in recent tournaments, which the side hopes to correct before the next matches in Sydney.
Georgia Wareham has added death bowling to her role for Australia in T20 internationals. She bowled the final over of New Zealand's innings in the opening match at North Sydney Oval, conceding just seven runs. Wareham said Australia have made improving their death overs a priority since the T20 World Cup. She was also the tournament's most economical bowler, and Australia will aim to secure the series and the Rose Bowl trophy in the second match on Tuesday.
Ellyse Perry says Australia's late batting slump against New Zealand in the opening T20I in Sydney came down to poor execution rather than a flawed game plan. Australia were cruising at 0-102 after ten overs of their chase toward 163 before losing six wickets for 57 runs, then edged home by two wickets with seven balls remaining. Perry said several batters had little recent time in the middle, pointing to a three-match ODI series against Bangladesh in which only about five players batted significantly.
Australia beat New Zealand by two wickets in the opening women's Twenty20 International at North Sydney Oval on Sunday night, with seven balls to spare. Number 10 Kim Garth scored the winning runs after a late collapse, leaving Australia 1-0 up in the three-match Rose Bowl series. Georgia Plimmer and Maddy Green had earlier put on an unbeaten 127 for New Zealand, who finished 2-162. The remaining matches are scheduled at the same venue on Tuesday and Thursday.
Australia beat New Zealand by two wickets in the opening women's T20 international at North Sydney Oval. Georgia Plimmer scored an unbeaten 85 to help the White Ferns reach 2-162. Australia were well placed at 2-102 after 10 overs, but lost six wickets for 57 runs before Tahlia McGrath and Kim Garth finished the chase with seven balls to spare. Australia lead the three-match series 1-0. The second match is on Tuesday, with the third on Thursday.
Australia's women's team opens a three-match T20 series against New Zealand in Sydney on Sunday, their final international T20s before the Champions Trophy in India next February. Coach Shelley Nitschke said the team faces a tricky lead-in, with no international T20s scheduled before the tournament. The Champions Trophy was brought forward from June 2027 to February. Nitschke said New Zealand's new-look side would arrive with nothing to lose, and the Australians are wary of them. All three matches are at North Sydney Oval, starting at 7:15pm AEDT.
The Governor-General's XI beat New Zealand by 19 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected 20-over warm-up at North Sydney Oval. Rain cut the hosts' innings to 10 overs at 2-77. Lucy Finn took three wickets for five runs, and New Zealand finished on 6-85 from their revised target of 105. Captain Amelia Kerr said the match was valuable practice before the first women's T20 international against Australia on Sunday.
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The Rose Bowl will now be contested in every bilateral women's series between Australia and New Zealand, beginning with a three-match T20 series at North Sydney Oval from Sunday. Since 1985 the trophy has been tied to one-day series, and Australia have held it since February 2000. Australian captain Sophie Molineux said the change adds excitement to the rivalry. If a tour includes both formats, the winner will be the side with more victories across them, with ties leaving the trophy with its holders.
The third edition of the Spring T20 Challenge begins in Sydney on Monday, October 12. Nine teams, including the eight Big Bash clubs and the ACT Meteors, will play 18 round-robin matches across four venues. The top four teams progress to semi-finals on October 20, with the final on October 21. Every game will be streamed live and is free for fans to attend. The tournament coincides with Australia's white-ball series against Bangladesh and New Zealand, so many contracted players are unavailable. Hobart Hurricanes are the defending champions and are seeking a third straight title.
Shai Hope scored an unbeaten 102 from 45 balls as West Indies beat India by six wickets in Ranchi on Friday. The win levelled the five-match T20 series at 1-1 and was the highest successful run chase by West Indies in T20 internationals. West Indies chased 250 after Sherfane Rutherford hit 84 off 37 balls and Hope added 120 runs with him for the fourth wicket. Earlier, Sanju Samson made 82 from 41 balls to power India to 5-249. The teams meet again in the third T20 in Indore on Sunday.
