Clark stunned by success of WBBL

Southern Stars legend Belinda Clark expected big things from the inaugural Women's Big Bash League, but even she admits she was blown away by the runaway success of the tournament and the unprecedented attention women's cricket attracted this summer.

Whether it was the Rebel WBBL or the Southern Stars, everywhere you turned during the 2015-16 season, people seemed to be talking about the game, both in the media and among fans.

"The cricket itself didn’t surprise me and the evenness of the competition didn't surprise me, but the response from community did surprise me," Clark, team performance senior manager for Cricket Australia, told cricket.com.au.

"The TV ratings and the crowds were really positive and hopefully a sign of what the future might look like."

A match between Melbourne Renegades and Sydney Thunder at Etihad Stadium was played in front of 14,611, while the Sydney derby attracted a crowd of 12,220 and a peak television audience of 496,000, making it No.1 in its timeslot across all channels.

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The 10 broadcast matches had an average audience of 231,000, while more than 2.56 million people tuned in overall throughout the course of the tournament, and more than 70,000 attended matches around the country.

That momentum carried into the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars' international summer against India, with large crowds and impressive television audiences tuning into the three double-headers played alongside the Australia men.

The moment Clark started to grasp exactly how far the game had progressed in such a short space of time came as she stood outside Adelaide Oval on Australia Day.

"I couldn’t get into the ground because there was lines of people queued up to get into the gates," she said.

"That's a remarkable outcome for the sport.

"Having people turn up significantly earlier than the men's game and to come and watch a game between Australia and India females is really positive and not something we've expected in Australia before.

"I've seen it in other parts of the world, queues waiting for gates to open, but for that to happen in Adelaide was excellent."

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That match against India was broadcast on the Nine Network's main channel on Australia Day, attracting an average broadcast audience of 425,000 and a peak of 771,000.

For Clark, the next challenge is to harness the momentum built by the WBBL in 2015-16 and ensure it – and the competition - continues to grow next summer.

"A lot of (the continued success) will come down to the way the competition is scheduled and how we engage with the broadcaster," she said.

"The key thing that was different (for women's cricket) to other years was the ability to get on TV sets around country and provide a really exciting opportunity for people to watch cricket.

"That is core to moving forward. So we need to go about making sure we have the same or more games on TV.

"The double headers worked well, but so did the standalone fixtures, so we've got work to do on how we break the season up, understanding what worked well so we can do it again while also making sure we've got the appetitive to continually evolve it."

From an international perspective, the summer's scheduling worked perfectly in the Southern Stars' favour, with the opportunity to play three double-headers alongside the Australia and India men.

While the demands of the packed international calendar mean this won't always be the case, the 2016-17 summer will see the Southern Stars meet South Africa, with the chance to create history as the inaugural winners of the ICC Women's ODI Championship likely to be at stake for the hosts.

And while losing the T20 series to India 2-1 in January wasn't ideal, Clark can also see the major positives of Australia's rivals becoming increasingly competitive.

"It's a really clear indication the game is growing globally," she said.

"It's good from a global perspective and with the World T20 in India, if all the teams play to their potential it should be an absolutely amazing tournament."

Closer to home, Clark hopes the strong television audiences and attendances will translate into a growing number of women and young girls playing cricket.

"With the WBBL and the Australian team on television I would like to think that's sparked a lot of interest in young girls and in parents to think, 'this is a viable option for my daughter to play'," she said.

"So we need to make sure we're providing them with opportunities to play, to make sure every area in Australia has the opportunities for young girls to play the game."