Junction Oval to host WBBL 2026 opening day double-header

Cricket Australia has released the schedule for the 12th Women's Big Bash League (WBBL 2026/27) season.

Over the course of 38 days, 43 matches will be played, with the tournament beginning with a doubleheader. The Thursday-Sunday timeslots have been added to the schedule, and the first game will be on October 29.

Cricket Australia Executive General Manager (Big Bash Leagues) Alistair Dobson confirmed that CA had not considered hosting the WBBL's inaugural game outside of Australia. The men's edition is scheduled to begin for the first time in December 2026 in Chennai, India.

He stated to reporters, "The WBBL is the best cricket league in the world for women, and it deserves to be played in the right places to help it grow."

"We're hoping for some announcements on that in the next couple of weeks alongside the BBL schedule. There has been a focus on where we might begin the BBL season.

"However, it's really important to be able to grow the WBBL in different markets... so I wouldn't say never on that."

On December 1, the Knockout match, which typically pits the third and fourth-place teams against one another, and the Challenger match, which pits the Knockout winner against the second-ranked qualifier, will take place.

There will be a total of 14 doubleheaders, the first of which will be the first Twenty20 match to be played under lights at the Junction Oval. The installation of lights project began in December of last year and will be finished in August.

On November 28, the penultimate day of the league stage, the second set of the two marquee matches—the Melbourne Derby and the Sydney Smash—will be played, and new marquee matches have been scheduled for Halloween and Melbourne Cup Eve.

The Hobart Hurricanes are the champions again, having won the league for the first time last year. The Brisbane Heat came in last place, losing only one of their ten games with no wins.