The WBBL Brisbane Heat will look to make a triumphant return to the Gabba with the first Weber Women’s Big Bash League game in five years to be staged at the traditional home of cricket in Queensland.
WBBL Heat Return To Gabba | Tackle Strikers Under Lights
The WBBL fixtures announced today by Cricket Australia will feature the Heat taking on Adelaide Strikers at the Gabba in a night fixture, the first time they will have played in prime time under lights at the venue.
The Gabba match on Saturday 9 November is a repeat of the WBBL grand final won narrowly by the Strikers when they held off the Heat in the final over of the decider at Adelaide Oval.
The Heat will also play three home games at Allan Border Field, taking on the Renegades (30 October), Stars (Nov 22) and Sixers (Nov 24).
This is the first season of the condensed WBBL season, bringing it into line with the KFC Big Bash League that delivered a streamlined 40-game regular season last season to much acclaim.
The Gabba will join the likes of the SCG, MCG, WACA and Adelaide Oval which hosted WBBL matches last summer as Cricket Australia look to enhance the reach of the competition as it celebrates its 10th season.
Brisbane had an enviable WBBL record at the Gabba in the early double-header days of the Big Bash, winning seven out of their eight games, before the competition moved to its own stand-alone timeslot in October and November in WBBL|05.
The new structure for Weber WBBL|10 and beyond will deliver enhanced scheduling and player availability, delivering a better competition for fans locally and globally.
WBBL|10 will be more accessible than ever before under Cricket Australia’s new Media Rights Agreement with Seven West Media and Foxtel Group.
The Seven Network will broadcast 23 matches, including all Finals, on its free-to-air channels and, for the first time, the 7plus digital platform. Every match will be shown live on FOX SPORTS, available on Kayo Sports.
The regular WBBL season concludes on Sunday, November 24, with the final game to follow day three of the NRMA Insurance Perth Test.
The three-match WBBL|10 Finals series will follow, culminating with The Final on Sunday, December 1, hosted by the team that finishes top of the table.
The more compacted season means the WBBL will not take a match to Mackay this summer, although the growth in demand for fixtures at Great Barrier Reef arena remains at an all-time high.
Queensland Cricket CEO Terry Svenson said that the move to play the WBBL at the Gabba represented a pivotal moment in the growth of the competition, while also adding that Mackay remained a strong option to host WBBL matches again in the future.
“We’re incredibly pleased to have the chance to showcase the Heat and the WBBL at the Gabba for the first time in their own right." he said.
“This is an important step in the growth of the WBBL to give our players and club a platform to perform and entertain, so we encourage our members and fans to get behind us as we seek to make the Gabba a fortress and put on a great show.
"Mackay remains an important region for the Heat and Queensland Cricket, however broadcast requirements and the condensed season this time around meant we couldn’t get WBBL games into Great Barrier Reef Arena. On the plus side, the venue is hosting nine days of international cricket this season, the most ever,’’ he said.
“No doubt that is disappointing for the Heat fans locally, but we will continue to work with Cricket Australia, Mackay Cricket, Harrup Park and the Mackay Regional Council to align on taking future matches to Great Barrier Reef Arena", Svenson said.
Among the Heat players welcoming the chance to play at the Gabba were Australian players Grace Harris, who scored a 41-ball century at the venue in WBBL|04, and captain Jess Jonassen.