The 2017–18 Women's Big Bash League season or WBBL|03 was the third season of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), the semi-professional women'sTwenty20 domestic cricket competition in Australia. The tournament was scheduled from 9 December 2017 to 4 February 2018.[1][2]
The final, held at Adelaide Oval, pitted the Sydney Sixers against the Perth Scorchers for the second season running. Sydney comfortably won the match by nine wickets to claim back-to-back championships.[3] Punctuating an emphatic comeback from retirement, Sixers medium-pace bowler Sarah Coyte managed figures of 4/17 in the decider and was named Player of the Final.[4]
Melbourne Renegades captain Amy Satterthwaite was named Player of the Tournament, although her team failed to qualify for the finals. Sixers captain Ellyse Perry was the leading run-scorer of the season, while the leading wicket-taker title was shared between the Sixers' Sarah Aley and the Scorchers' Katherine Brunt.
Teams
Each squad featured 15 active players, with an allowance of up to five marquee signings including a maximum of three from overseas. Australian marquees were defined as players who made at least ten limited-overs appearances for the national team in the three years prior to the cut-off date (24 April 2017).[5][6]
The table below lists each team's marquee players and other key details for the season.
Below is a summary of results for each team's fourteen regular season matches, plus finals where applicable, in chronological order. A team's opponent for any given match is listed above the margin of victory/defeat.
Sydney Sixers won by 6 wickets (with 8 balls remaining) North Sydney Oval No. 2 Umpires: Marc Nickl and Ben Treloar Player of the match: Alyssa Healy (Sixers)
Perth Scorchers won by 9 wickets (with 10 balls remaining) North Dalton Park, Wollongong Umpires: Ryan Nelson and Marc Nickl Player of the match: Elyse Villani (Scorchers)
Sydney Thunder won by 8 wickets (with 33 balls remaining) Lavington Sports Oval, Albury Umpires: Dinusha Bandara and Andrew Crozier Player of the match: Rachael Haynes (Thunder)
Sydney Thunder won by 9 wickets (with 29 balls remaining) Howell Oval, Penrith Umpires: Ryan Nelson and G Stubbings Player of the match: Rachael Haynes (Thunder)
Melbourne Renegades won by 8 runs Camberwell Sports Ground, Melbourne Umpires: Daryl Brigham and Dale Ireland Player of the match: Amy Satterthwaite (Renegades)
Melbourne Renegades won by 10 wickets (with 55 balls remaining) Etihad Stadium, Melbourne Umpires: Daryl Brigham and Dale Ireland Player of the match: Sophie Molineux (Renegades)
Perth Scorchers won by 9 wickets (with 9 balls remaining) WACA Ground, Perth Umpires: Ashlee Kovalevs and John Taylor Player of the match: Nicole Bolton (Scorchers)
Perth Scorchers won by 6 wickets (with 7 balls remaining) Lilac Hill, Perth Umpires: John Taylor and Trent Steenholdt Player of the match: Nicole Bolton (Scorchers)
Brisbane Heat won by 8 wickets (with 22 balls remaining) Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Umpires: Nathan Johnstone and Craig Thomas Player of the match: Beth Mooney (Heat)
Melbourne Stars won by 7 wickets (with 6 balls remaining) Melbourne Cricket Ground Umpires: Daryl Brigham and Dale Ireland Player of the match: Georgia Elwiss (Stars)
Melbourne Renegades won the toss and elected to bat
Brisbane Heat won by 8 wickets (with 32 balls remaining) Blundstone Arena, Hobart Umpires: Darren Close and Muhammad Qureshi Player of the match: Beth Mooney (Heat)
Perth Scorchers won by 8 wickets (with 11 balls remaining) WACA Ground, Perth Umpires: James Hewitt and A Kovalevs Player of the match: Alex Blackwell (Thunder)
The Adelaide Strikers recorded the first-ever one-wicket victory in WBBL history,[22] defeating the Melbourne Stars on the last ball of the match.[23] Requiring three runs with one delivery remaining, Tabatha Saville scored a boundary off leg-spinning Stars captain Kristen Beams to clinch a narrow win for the Strikers.[24]
Brisbane Heat won by 5 wickets (with 11 balls remaining) Harrup Park, Mackay Umpires: Stephen Dionysius and David Taylor Player of the match: Beth Mooney (Heat)
Adelaide Strikers won by 6 wickets (with 1 ball remaining) Traeger Park, Alice Springs Umpires: Darren Close and Craig Thomas Player of the match: Tahlia McGrath (Strikers)
Adelaide Strikers won the toss and elected to field
Match reduced to 16 overs per side due to rain delay
Sydney Thunder won by 4 wickets (with 6 balls remaining) Sydney Cricket Ground Umpires: Anthony Hobson and G Stubbings Player of the match: Naomi Stalenberg (Thunder)
Melbourne Stars won by 6 wickets (with 16 balls remaining) Harrup Park, Mackay Umpires: Stephen Dionysius and David Taylor Player of the match: Erin Osborne (Stars)
Melbourne Renegades won by 10 wickets (with 51 balls remaining) Blundstone Arena, Hobart Umpires: Wade Stewart and Muhammad Qureshi Player of the match: Sophie Molineux (Renegades)
Melbourne Renegades won the toss and elected to field
Perth Scorchers won by 9 wickets (with 24 balls remaining) WACA Ground, Perth Umpires: J Paterson and Trent Steenholdt Player of the match: Elyse Villani (Scorchers)
Perth Scorchers won by 6 wickets (with 7 balls remaining) Lilac Hill Park, Perth Umpires: James Hewitt and J Paterson Player of the match: Nicole Bolton (Scorchers)
Sydney Sixers won by 5 wickets (with 12 balls remaining) Casey Fields No. 4, Melbourne Umpires: Stephen Brne and Dale Ireland Player of the match: Ellyse Perry (Sixers)
Sydney Thunder won by 4 wickets (with 24 balls remaining) Manuka Oval, Canberra Umpires: Dinusha Bandara and Andrew Crozier Player of the match: Nicola Carey (Thunder)
Melbourne Stars won by 7 wickets (with 12 balls remaining) Melbourne Cricket Ground Umpires: Daryl Brigham and Darren Close Player of the match: Katie Mack (Stars)
Sydney Sixers won by 7 wickets (with 4 balls remaining) Hurstville Oval, Sydney Umpires: Anthony Hobson and T Penman Player of the match: Alyssa Healy (Sixers)
Melbourne Renegades won by 4 wickets (with 4 balls remaining) Camberwell Sports Ground, Melbourne Umpires: Andrew Crozier and Dale Ireland Player of the match: Sophie Molineux (Renegades)
Melbourne Renegades won the toss and elected to field
Brisbane Heat won by 6 wickets (with 12 balls remaining) Brisbane Cricket Ground Umpires: Murray Branch and Stephen Dionysius Player of the match: Grace Harris (Heat)
Perth Scorchers won by 4 wickets (with 23 balls remaining) Camberwell Sports Ground, Melbourne Umpires: Daryl Brigham and Andrew Crozier Player of the match: Katherine Brunt (Scorchers)
Sydney Sixers won by 7 wickets (with 11 balls remaining) Hurstville Oval, Sydney Umpires: T Penman and G Stubbings Player of the match: Sarah Coyte (Sixers)
All knockout phase matches were played as double headers with the men's tournament, hence the venues for both semi-finals and the final were determined using the standings of the BBL|07 points table.
Player of the Tournament votes are awarded on a 3-2-1 basis by the two standing umpires at the conclusion of every match, meaning a player can receive a maximum of six votes per game.
Players under 21 years of age at the start of the season are eligible for the Young Gun Award. Weekly winners are selected over the course of the season by a panel of Cricket Australia officials based on match performance, on-field and off-field attitude, and their demonstration of skill, tenacity and good sportsmanship. Each weekly winner receives a $500 Rebel gift card and the overall winner receives a $5000 cash prize, as well as access to a learning and mentor program.[26]
The table below shows the number of Player of the Match awards won by each player throughout the season. The career tally indicates the number of awards won by a player throughout her entire time in the league at the conclusion of the season, including awards won while previously playing for a different WBBL team.
A total of twelve matches were televised on free-to-air in the third season of Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) on Network Ten, including four on the opening weekend.[28] The remaining 47 matches were live streamed on the Cricket Australia or MamaMia website as well as the Cricket Australia Live AppArchived 25 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine for mobile.
Below are the television ratings for every game that was broadcast by Network Ten during the season.[29]
The Super Over of match 42 drew ratings of 296,000 nationally, and 185,000 in the 5 metro cities.[30]
Lane, Daniel (2017). Official Big Bash Book 2017–18. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN9781760631253.
Notes
^ abNumber of games hosted at each venue is indicated in brackets
^Only includes players who debuted for Australia before the tournament
^New ZealanderHayley Jensen was classed as a local player for the Renegades in WBBL|03 due to her permanent residence in Australia and a lack of recent international cricket appearances
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