Women's Big Bash League - schedule, format and England stars to watch

Adelaide Strikers won the Women's Big Bash League in 2023

The Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), one of the world's leading franchise tournaments, returns on Sunday for the 10th edition.

This year includes a new format, decreasing the overall number of games from 59 to 43, which aligns with the men’s competition.

Eight teams form the Australian domestic T20 competition, with the opportunity for teams to acquire overseas players.

New Zealand begin their tour of India on Thursday, meaning they are only partly available, while England's tour of South Africa at the end of November makes their players unavailable for the latter part of the tournament.

Here is everything else you need to know about the 2024 WBBL.

When is the Women’s Big Bash League?

The Women’s Big Bash League begins on Sunday, 27 October, just seven days after the conclusion of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.

The tournament runs until Sunday, 1 December with the group stage ending on 24 November. There is then the Knockout and Challenger, before the final.

There will 43 games played in total, with the venue for the final on 1 December yet to be confirmed.

The tournament begins with a triple-header:

Adelaide Strikers v Brisbane Heat (02:40 BST)

Melbourne Renegades v Sydney Sixers (06:10 BST)

Perth Scorchers v Melbourne Stars (09:30 BST)

What is the format and schedule for the Women’s Big Bash League?

This year marks the 10th edition of the tournament and Cricket Australia has announced a new format.

Every side will play 10 games in the group stage, with each team playing three others twice.

The top-four teams will progress to the knockout stage, with first securing their place in the final.

The third- and fourth-placed teams will play each other in the Knockout (27 November).

The winner will progress to the Challenger (29 November) where they will play the second-placed team for a place in the final (1 December).

The shortened tournament, from seven weeks to five, is designed to be more appealing to overseas players.

Who are the defending champions and what other teams are involved?

The women’s competition offers the same city-based teams as the men’s side. Each state capital city features at least one team with Sydney and Melbourne featuring two.

The eight teams are: Adelaide Strikers, Brisbane Heat, Hobart Hurricanes, Melbourne Renegades, Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers & Sydney Thunder.

Strikers are the defending champions having won the two previous editions of the competition.

They will be captained once again by Tahlia McGrath, who hit 38 in last year’s final to lead her team to victory.

They beat Heat by three runs, and their squad is strong again with South Africa's Nadine de Klerk and India's Jemimah Rodrigues two of their overseas signings.

Strikers, Sixers, Thunder and Heat have each won the competition twice, with Thunder securing the first title in 2015-16 season.

What England players are involved in the Women’s Big Bash League?

Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Amy Jones during this year's IT20 against Pakistan

Back in September, a draft took place which involves teams bidding for overseas players for the 2024-25 season.

Hobart Hurricanes had first pick, and teams must draft a minimum of two overseas players and a maximum of four.

There is a hierarchy of player salaries for the overseas player which corresponds to the round that players are chosen and is as follows:

Platinum: 110,000 Australian dollars (£56,400)

Gold: 90,000 Australian dollars (£46,000)

Silver: 65,000 Australian dollars (£33,300)

Bronze: Up to 40,000 Australian dollars (£20,500)

After their premature exit in the T20 World Cup groups, there’s no rest for the England players with some big names taking part.

Danni Wyatt-Hodge was the first pick at the highest platinum level and joins Hurricanes. Suzie Bates, New Zealand’s World Cup winner, will replace Wyatt when she heads to South Africa for England's tour.

The world's number one-ranked spinner Sophie Ecclestone and England captain Heather Knight were retained by Sixers and Thunder respectively. Knight is recovering from a calf injury sustained at the World Cup but will join up with Thunder.

Amy Jones was retained by Scorchers but Alice Capsey has joined Renegades from Stars.

Linsey Smith will join Capsey at Renegades, after signing as a replacement, while Lauren Winfield-Hill is available for Heat's first two matches.

Hollie Armitage and Georgia Adams are with Sixers and Thunder too.

Are there Indian players involved and who else should I look out for?

There are six Indian players signed in total. All-rounder Deepti Sharma was the fourth pick of the first round, after not being selected for last year’s tournament. She joins Stars, while her team-mate Jemimah Rodrigues, who was also among the first-round picks, heads to Brisbane Heat.

Opener Smriti Mandhana was pre-picked by Adelaide Strikers.

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur was one of the biggest names to not be selected, along with team-mates Shreyanka Patil and Radha Yadav.

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, who claimed Player of the Series last year, has been secured for the next three seasons by Sydney Thunder.

South Africa captain Laura Wolvdaart was a first-round pick and heads to defending champions Strikers, while ex-Proteas seamer Shabnim Ismail, one of the world's quickest bowlers, will represent Thunder.

Marizanne Kapp, the number one ranked all-rounder, was snapped up by Stars, while Renegades opted for West Indies all-rounders Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin. The pair had impressive World Cups.

New Zealand's Sophie Devine, who captained her side to World Cup victory, will be at Scorchers, while all-rounder Melie Kerr will play for Sixers.

How can I follow on the BBC?

There will be ball-by-ball commentary on selected matches across BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sport website and app.

The commentary will be provided by ABC Grandstand in Australia.

You can also keep up to date on the tournament, and other franchise cricket leagues, in our new page. You can follow using the 'bell' icon on the app or the 'follow' button on desktop.

There will also be regular coverage on the BBC Cricket Instagram and WhatsApp account.

The tournament is available to watch live in the UK on Sky Sports.