All you need to know for the WNCL season

When does it start?

After a delay, the Women's National Cricket League – Australia's national women's domestic 50-over competition – will get underway on Friday, December 17 when Victoria host the NSW Breakers at the Junction Oval and Queensland play Tasmania at Blundstone Arena.

The competition typically starts in September, with rounds spread across the summer, but the start was postponed this year due to border closures.

View the full WNCL fixture here

Restrictions continue to add challenges to the tournament; just last week South Australia's first-up trip to Perth had to be rescheduled after Western Australia closed its border to the state, while a COVID exposure in the ACT program saw their early match against Victoria reshuffled.

As a result, Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Tasmania begin their campaigns this week, while the remaining sides must wait for the first week of January.

But WA could ultimately be forced to wait much longer; the state's plan to keep borders closed until February 5 seems likely to impact upcoming games against Tasmania on January 9 and 11, meaning their first match may not be until February 14. But Cricket Australia remains hopeful of holding a full 29-game season, culminating in the final on March 6.

As it stands, the schedule sees every state (and the ACT) hosting at least one game, with each of the seven teams to play eight matches before the top two ranked teams meet in the decider.

What's different this summer?

In a first, every match of the 2021-22 season will be live streamed free for fans in Australia on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app, while all games will also be streamed on Kayo Sports.

In past seasons, only the final was consistently live streamed each year, with other matches at streamed by the host state on an ad-hoc basis.

It builds on the work started last season, when the quantity and quality of WNCL streaming increased dramatically, and 19 of 29 matches were live streamed by cricket.com.au, with a portion of those featuring on Kayo.

But those aren't the only changes! The double bonus point as been removed (but the single bonus point remains), and in the event of a tied match, a Super Over will now be played.

How can I follow the WNCL?

As well as tuning into all the live steams, all matches will be scored live on cricket.com.au and the CA Live app so you can keep up-to-date with every ball, while we'll also provide added written coverage and video highlights throughout the tournament.

What about going to a game?

Fans can attend both of Friday and Sunday's games at Blundstone Arena, and fully vaccinated fans are welcome at this week's games at Junction Oval.

In good news, all six states and the ACT are due to host WNCL matches throughout this season; venues include Melbourne's Junction Oval, Hobart's Blundstone Arena, the WACA Ground and Lilac Hill in Perth, Canberra's Manuka Oval and EPC Solar Park, Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane, Adelaide's Karen Rolton Oval, and North Sydney Oval.

We recommend checking requirements for attendance prior to each match, given rules and restrictions regularly change and vary across different jurisdictions.

What's at stake?

The winning state will be presented with the Ruth Preddey Cup. Queensland are the reigning champions after claiming their first title last season, while the NSW Breakers have claimed 'Ruth' on 20 occasions – and after missing the final for the first time in 25 seasons last summer, the Breakers will be desperate to return to the big dance.

The coveted trophy was introduced for the 1972-73 season and is named after one of the game's pioneers; Preddey was a former NSW player, administrator, Australian team manager and sports editor of The Australian Women's Weekly. 

For the players there is another carrot – the chance to impress national selectors ahead of the Ashes, the Australia A series against England, and 2022 50-over World Cup to be held in New Zealand in March and April. With Australia spinners Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham sidelined through injury, there is a real chance for the spinners to stake a claim on a spot in the Aussie squad.

How are the squads looking?

Victoria have six Australian-contracted players on their list, but have lost past international representatives Elyse Villani and Molly Strano to Tasmania, and as mentioned above, Molineux and Wareham will be unavailable due to injury, while captain Meg Lanning has elected to sit out their opening two matches.

FULL SQUADS HERE

New South Wales field a list including Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Ashleigh Gardner and Hannah Darlington, while South Australia have three Aussie stars in Darcie Brown, Tahlia McGrath and Megan Schutt, and Queensland boast Beth Mooney, Jess Jonassen and Georgia Redmayne.

However, a hectic summer of international cricket will limit how many matches the Australia squad members can play – and it is NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland who likely face the biggest disruptions.

As it stands, the internationals will likely be available for a maximum of four matches in December and January – and fewer than that for the states not beginning their campaigns until January.

The ODI leg of the Ashes clashes with the resumption of the WNCL in February, and Australia's World Cup squad will depart for New Zealand immediately after the third Ashes ODI on February 19 (owing to isolation requirements upon arrival in NZ).

With that in mind, Tasmania, with the additions of Stano and Villani adding to an already strong list, who head into the season as one of the favourites to claim the title, alongside defending champions Queensland.