Border closures force more domestic changes

Western Australia will need to wait until mid-February to begin their women's 50-over domestic season as border restrictions force yet more changes to the Women's National Cricket League schedule.

WA were scheduled to play Tasmania in Hobart twice this week, on January 7 and 9, but the games have been pushed back to March 9 and 11 given the western state's hard border with the rest of the country.

WA already had two matches against South Australia moved from December to early March and these latest changes have also forced the final to be pushed back by 12 days from March 6 to Friday, March 18.

It means WA are now set to kick off their campaign against Victoria at the WACA Ground on March 14 and will play all eight of their regular-season games in 26 days.

By contrast, Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Tasmania all started their seasons in mid-December, while ACT and SA play their first matches this week.

The change is a blow to players from Tasmania and especially WA who are hoping to impress national selectors ahead of the upcoming Ashes and ODI World Cup.

It means WA leggie Alana King, who is battling South Australia's Amanda-Jade Wellington for the spot left vacant by the injured Georgia Wareham, will be denied a chance to play any one-day state games before the Ashes squad is selected this weekend.

Tasmanians and recent Australia squad members Nicola Carey, Molly Strano and Belinda Vakarewa will also miss an opportunity to spend time in the middle, while in-form batter Elyse Villani will also be denied a chance to continue pressing her case for a recall.

Four WNCL matches will be staged between Thursday and Sunday, when the national selectors are due to choose their Ashes squad.

The ACT Meteors play their first game of the season against NSW at Manuka Oval on Thursday before South Australia begin their campaign against Queensland at Alan Pettigrew Oval on Friday.

ACT then host Victoria on Sunday while Queensland and South Australia meet again.

Victoria play ACT again on Tuesday, January 11, and NSW meet the Meteors on Friday, January 14, in what will be the final appearances by Australia's squad members this season, given they must travel to New Zealand for the World Cup immediately after the final Ashes ODI.

"The safety and wellbeing of players, match officials, staff and fans remains our top priority as we aim to deliver the full 29-game WNCL season," Australia's head of cricket operations and scheduling, Peter Roach, said.

"Cricket Australia worked closely with the States and Territories to deliver a revised schedule that has minimal impact on Premier Cricket finals, while also allowing the top cricketers in the country to be available for WNCL matches.

"We thank the States and Territories for their flexibility and understanding as we navigate scheduling challenges."

The start of the 2021-22 WNCL season was pushed back from September to December due to border closures.

Further changes were then necessary in December, with the ACT unable to travel to Melbourne following a COVID exposure within their squad, and WA unable to host SA.