The WBBL Brisbane Heat team will make a historic return to the Gabba on November 9 as part of this season's Gabba Smash by WARD as the Weber Women’s Big Bash league celebrates a triumphant tenth season.
2 weeks until WBBL Returns to the GABBA
Announced earlier in the year by Cricket Australia, the Heat will take on the Adelaide Strikers as the first stand-alone WBBL fixture to be played in prime time, under lights at Queensland’s traditional home of cricket.
The fixture is a repeat of last year's WBBL grand final thriller, won in the final over by the Strikers at the Adelaide Oval.
Star Australian DJ duo Kinder will light up the Gabba as part of the Weber WBBL|10 Stadium Series, with the dance sensations to perform an electrifying show.
The Heat will also play three home games at Allan Border Field, lining up against the Renegades (30th Oct), Stars (22nd Nov) and Sixers (24th Nov).
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.
Excited about the opportunity to return to the Gabba is Heat captain Jess Jonassen, the competition’s leading wicket-taker and Grace Harris, who scored the fastest WBBL century (101* off 42 balls) at the venue against the Stars in WBBL|04.
“We always have great home support at AB Field (Allan Border Field) but as a player, I am definitely looking forward to returning to the Gabba,” Harris said.
“I’m also looking forward to the ten-game season this year and getting back into stadiums where hopefully big numbers and crowds turn up.”
The Gabba will join the likes of the SCG, MCG, WACA and Adelaide Oval which hosted WBBL fixtures last summer as key Stadium Series fixtures as Cricket Australia continues to enhance the accessibility and reach of the competition.
Under a new refined structure for WBBL|10 and beyond, the now 40 game regular season will deliver enhanced scheduling and player availability, delivering a better competition for fans locally and globally.
“We got the best fans in the country and for us to have the opportunity to play out at the Gabba again for the first time as a stand-alone game would be absolutely unreal,” Captain Jess Jonassen said.
“A capacity crowd at the Gabba, I’ve been there for a few of the men's games and Australia games watching the men play there and the atmosphere is incredible.”
Ward, a leading, multi-faceted civil and environmental engineering contractor, was recently announced as the match day partner of the WBBL Heat’s historic Weber Women’s Big Bash League match at the Gabba on Saturday 9 November.
The Heat also look forward to welcoming Indian duo Jemimah Rodrigues and Shikha Pandey to this year's squad who were picked up in September’s WBBL Draft alongside pre-signed all-rounder, South African Nadine De Klerk.
Brisbane Heat WBBL coach Mark Sorell said that this year's draft picks compliment the talented group of local players.
“We got some great young bowlers coming through our system and it's great to be able to bring that experience (in Shikha Pandey) into the mix.”
WBBL and BBL tickets for the Heat are on sale now through Ticketek and at https://www.brisbaneheat.com.au/tickets
Fans who purchase a ticket between October 17–26 can score a limited-edition WBBL player badge. Badges can be collected at Gate 2 of the Gabba during Gabba Smash or at the ticket marquee at Allan Border Field.
For the first time, the WBBL Heat will play a stand-alone match at the Gabba, taking on the Adelaide Strikers on Saturday 9 November, as well as three matches under lights at Allan Border Field.