The head of the Big Bash is confident that the WBBL remains the premier league in the world despite the growth of the WPL and Hundred along with the increasing money those leagues offer the leading players.

The schedule for the 2026-27 WBBL season was announced on Thursday with fewer morning fixtures and neutral venue games and more matches in the Friday-Sunday window. The season will begin on October 29 with the final on December 5 following the Knockout and Challenger on December 1 and 3 respectively.

It is one of three distinct windows for the major women’s leagues with the WPL having moved to January and the Hundred taking place in July and August. In this year’s Hundred auction, Beth Mooney earned an AU$400,000 deal, which is three times her WBBL contract. The highest-paid overseas players in the WBBL draft earn AU$110,000, although the future of that model is in doubt with talks currently ongoing.

“We watch closely and work closely with both the Hundred and the WPL,” Alistair Dobson, the executive general manager of Big Bash Leagues, said. “Each bring different strengths. You can see that just the scale of the WPL in India, like cricket generally, is significant. I think from a WBBL perspective, it still prides itself on being the toughest comp with the best, the highest standard and really the place for players to test themselves.

“And then we love watching the Hundred and particularly what they’ve been able to do in some of the biggest stadiums in the UK. So I think each of the three leagues have a unique proposition. We still believe the WBBL is the best of all of them, but it’s good to have competition. And I think we’re in different windows, so there’s less conflict or competition around [the] window.”

Renegades will play the first game, against Sydney Thunder, and then Stars will feature against defending champions Hobart Hurricanes under Junction Oval’s new floodlights, which have helped CA move more games into primetime evening slots.

“First thing I’d say is nothing’s certain, nothing’s decided or definitive in terms of the future of those clubs or any of our clubs,” Dobson said. “A lot of work going on to establish the best model and set up for the Big Bash going forward. That’s been clearly a topic of lots of discussion. Our eyes are firmly focused on this season with those two clubs and, from a playing perspective, their lists are in good shape.

“Obviously, the Junction Oval is becoming an even better venue for WBBL. There’s been some different considerations this year and different sort of type of work going on with those clubs, but as we get into the start of the WBBL, our optimism around those clubs is high. As you can see by scheduling them on day one of the competition to host games, that sort of shows where we feel those clubs will be at come the start of the season.”

Two seasons ago, the WBBL experimented with taking more matches into major stadiums with MCG, SCG and the Gabba hosting fixtures but, after being dropped in 2025-26, they will again not feature in the upcoming season. However, Adelaide Oval will continue to host a game when Strikers face Renegades on November 20.

“Clearly this year, the Melbourne teams are focused in on the Junction Oval,” Dobson said. “So that’s taken priority over the MCG. Then other clubs have got different priorities from time to time. Whereas for the Strikers, playing at the Adelaide Oval remains a really high priority for them.

“So it’s year by year, case by case, and ultimately club by club. But I think the history the Strikers have at that ground, the success they’ve had and the way that their fans have showed up to support that team has been really strong. And to get them on a Friday night was a real focus from a scheduling perspective.”

Unlike last season, MCG, SCG and the Gabba won’t be on standby to host matches in the finals series while the redeveloped WACA is understood to be Perth Scorchers’ preferred option, although the proximity of the Australia-New Zealand men’s Test would likely rule out Optus Stadium in any event.