Major stadiums remain priority for WBBL despite Ashes fixture shake-up
The timing of the women's Twenty20 World Cup in India has forced the WBBL season to start later than usual.
The season will now kick off on November 9 – a week after the World Cup final – with an eye-catching triple-header across two different venues.
The later start has ruled out Optus Stadium, the Gabba, SCG and MCG because those venues will either be in use or being prepped for the Ashes.
But Adelaide Oval will still host two matches in the back half of the season on November 28.
The iconic MCG, which hosted the WBBL final, will not welcome a WBBL game this season. Picture: Ian Currie
SEE FULL WBBL|11 FIXTURE HERE
Despite the clash of venues, the WBBL fixture will leverage the interest of the Ashes with the timing of games during Test matches.
A match will be played on the first morning of the Ashes in Hobart and will begin at 10am to capitalise on the time zone difference to Perth.
There will then be a match starting at 8.50pm at the WACA on the same night to capture the supporters leaving the Test yearning for more action.
BBL general manager Alistair Dobson was confident the Ashes-aligned fixture would draw sustained interest and backed the stadium series to return in future seasons.
'Each season when we look at the season, we always look for the balance of the right venues and opportunities to promote those games,' Dobson said.
'We enjoy playing in those bigger stadiums for the past couple of seasons and looking forward to being back at the Adelaide Oval this year.
'The other games, largely due to scheduling reasons and needing to optimise those games in those big stadiums, we haven't found the right slot for them as closely this year.
WBBL fixture starts at its latest date and will include a jam-packed four week schedule.
'Playing all the Sixers games at North Sydney Oval and the Stars games will be back at CitiPower Centre and the Gabba is out of action due to the Test match.
'We haven't been able to find the right slot this year, but that's not to say we won't be back there in the future because the world's best cricket league in the world's best stadiums is still part of our thinking going forward.'
The WBBL final will be played the night before the BBL season begins.
It's the closest the two seasons have been and – according to Dobson – will ever be.
'The WBBL is the world's best cricket league for women and one of the most watched and popular sports leagues in Australia,' he said.
'We think that warrants having it in its own stand-alone window to able to leverage prime-time audiences in its own place in the cricket calendar.'
Tyler Lewis
Sports reporter
Tyler Lewis is a sports reporter based in Melbourne's south east.
@tmlew_
Tyler Lewis
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News.com.au
19 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Got it wrong': Wallabies left heartbroken as ‘terrible' call costs Aussies historic victory
The Wallabies have been denied an upset win over the British and Irish Lions in heartbreaking and controversial fashion after the visitors scored a last-gasp try to claim a thrilling 29-26 victory. Hugo Keenan went over for the Lions in the 79th minute to win it, only for Australia to desperately appeal the try, claiming Jac Morgan had made contact with the head of Carlo Tizzano at the breakdown in the lead-up. Referee Andrea Piardi, however, deemed there to be no foul play in the lead-up, much to the frustration of Stan Sport's Morgan Turinui in commentary. 'The referees were too weak to give it (the penalty),' he said. 'You cannot hit a guy in the back of the neck to save the ball who is legally jackling. The referees have got it wrong. It has cost the Wallabies survival in the series... a terrible decision that decides this match.' You can watch the controversial moment in the player above. A shattered skipper Harry Wilson said after the game he was 'probably not in the right emotion to speak' about the decision. Coach Joe Schmidt, meanwhile, said the Wallabies may have got a 'different decision on another day and another time'. 'I think it was described as arriving at the same time and we can all see that's not the case,' he said. 'We can all see clear contact with the back of the neck. Lions great Martin Johnson said after the game that he agreed with the call, arguing 'you have to be very, very sure to change the game on the ref's decision'. Former Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper, on the other hand, said if the incident happened in the first minute 'it probably gets awarded'. Turinui, meanwhile, only delivered an even more scathing assessment of the decision when pressed on the matter again post-game. 'That decision is 100 per cent completely wrong,' he said on Stan Sport. Lions blatant foul play is rewarded by northern hemisphere officials … a shameful end #Wallabies — Gray Connolly (@GrayConnolly) July 26, 2025 A very sad night for rugby when once again refereeing destroys a great game and turns people away from rugby in Australia. “Both players arriving at the same time. So no foul play.â€� Except one player cleaned out the other with a shoulder to the head. #lionsvswallabies — Tim Ayliffe (@TimJAyliffe) July 26, 2025 That is a rubbish decision. Clearly foul play. That’s a red card in super rugby. — Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) July 26, 2025 A truly brutal way to lose a series for the Wallabies. — Jonathan Drennan (@JWDrennan) July 26, 2025 'The referee got it wrong. His two assistant referees got it wrong. The TMO got it wrong Joel Jutge, the head of the referees, is out here on a junket. He needs to haul those referees in and ask for a please explain... the refereeing group, when it counted, got the match-defining decision completely wrong. It's a point of law. It's in black and white. It's not about bias.' UK view - Wallabies player 'dived' British media predictably didn't agree with Australian pundits who believe the Wallabies were dudded by the no call when Jac Morgan made contact with the head of Carlo Tizzano. UK rugby journalists accused Tizzano of diving and exaggerating contact by flying backwards. The Sunday Times' rugby correspondent Stephen Jones said on X: 'Carlo Tizzano, hit by Jac Morgan at the very end, did himself no favours by a backwards dive and appeal to the ref.' The Telegraph's Oliver Brown wrote a column titled: 'Stop moaning Australia, your player dived.' Brown wrote: 'In the end, the verdict was clear: the Australian had tried to buy a penalty, falling backwards with an exaggeration of which an Italian centre-forward would have been proud. Tizzano clearly milked the incident, collapsing with a melodrama that could easily have persuaded some officials to chalk off Keenan's try. It would have been hugely unjust for the series-clinching score to be ruled out on the basis of one player's histrionics. Brown described Tizzano's reaction as 'staggering back, clutching his head as if in mortal agony'. One viewer wrote on X: 'Tizzano should be facing a ban for that. Shameful behaviour, diving and rolling around like a toddler.' Australia needed victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to keep the three-Test series alive after losing the opener in Brisbane 27-19. That desperation showed from the opening minute, with Will Skelton and Rob Valentini adding some much-needed gusto up front for an Australia team that was outmuscled in the opener. Fly-half Tom Lynagh was also doing his part to help the Wallabies win the field position battle early with some nice clearances, while he also added a pair of penalty goals to give the hosts a 6-0 lead after 15 minutes. The Lions eventually hit the scoreboard shortly after as a pair of offside penalties saw Dan Sheehan score and a promising start threatened to unravel for the Wallabies as Harry Potter then went down with a hamstring injury. But instead of derailing them, the Wallabies showed the fight they needed to considering the circumstances as James Slipper scored to put Australia further ahead. Tom Wright then nailed a 50-22 to set up the Wallabies in scoring territory again and on this occasion it was Jake Gordon who sliced through to extend the lead. Australia's attack was free-flowing at that point, with Tommy Freeman in the bin, as Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii split the Lions defence with his silky footwork and found Wright backing up in support. It was a dream start for Joe Schmidt's side, who lead 23-5 after 30 minutes, but momentum then flipped in the Lions' favour as back-to-back tries left the halftime deficit at 23-17. The 23 points were the most the Wallabies had scored in the first half against the Lions — a record dating all the way back to 1899. Given the way the Lions finished the first half, it felt like the opening try in the second stanza would be particularly crucial. The Wallabies had a chance to go over first when Langi Gleeson and Fraser McReight combined to split the Lions defence, finding Suaalii in space. Suaalii had a number of teammates open on the left edge but was taken to the ground by Tom Curry in a desperate last-ditch effort that forced the ball free, seeing a try go begging. Instead, it was the Lions who scored the first try of the second half through Tadhg Beirne in the 60th minute to reduce the deficit to 26-24 after an earlier Lynagh penalty goal extended Australia's lead. In the end, last-minute try broke Australia's hearts, with the no-penalty call to dominate discussion in the days to come.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Australian relay teams win gold on day one of world swimming championships
The Australian swimming team has had an outstanding start to the World Aquatics Championships, winning two gold and a silver to open the competition. Australia's men's and women's 4x100m freestyle relay teams both claimed gold, while Sam Short won silver in the men's 400 metre freestyle. The all-conquering women's 4x100m freestyle relay team won gold ahead the US in second and the Netherlands in third, to extend a major championship winning run that began with a world record set at the 2018 Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast. The Australian men's team followed up just minutes later with a stunning come-from-behind win anchored by veteran Kyle Chalmers to set a championship record of 3:08.07 ahead of Italy, with the US favourites in third. Chalmers dived in with Australia in third place after earlier legs by Flynn Southam, Kai Taylor and Maximilliam Giuliani, but stormed home in 46.53 seconds to secure the victory. "It's so good to be part of a relay team that's so young and hungry and eager to have success in LA like I am," Chalmers said. "We've won bronze, bronze, silver, I really desperately want to win a gold medal in a few years' time." Southam said the goal for himself, Taylor and Giuliani "was just to give Kyle a punter's hope". "And we all did our job extraordinarily well, but we came together and represented the country, so there's no greater honour, I think, and to do it in a relay is so much more special than an individual event," Southam said. Giuliani said the result, on the first day of the swimming competition in Singapore, was "unbelievable". "We spoke about it the first day we came together on staging … and to deliver on that in great fashion — I mean championship record [and] we weren't too far off the world record," he said. "I think we've got a whole lot of potential in this team." The women's race was equally dramatic. Mollie O'Callaghan led out and established a lead by the first change, which was extended in the following two legs swum by Meg Harris and Milla Jansen. In the final leg, Olivia Wunsch was chased down by Olympic relay gold medallist Torri Huske, who turned at the 350m mark in first place. But Wunsch turned on the afterburners to reclaim first place, touching the wall in 3:30.6 seconds. "I just wanted to power home and give it all I had and it's really exciting to be able to stand up with a gold medal today," Wunsch said. "I love racing, and I love anchoring a relay so that was really exciting. O'Callaghan said the team was "very nervous leading up to this". "I thought I've just got to try my best for these three girls and especially the girls in the heat," she said. "It's nice to know that we have a strong set-up for LA and Brisbane and, yeah, I'm very confident in these girls and it's going to be a great week." The US team had been rocked by a case of gastroenteritis that has gone through the team after a staging camp in Thailand. Just minutes before the final, multiple Olympic relay gold medallist, Gretchen Walsh pulled out of the team. But Huske said the team wasn't making excuses. "I don't want to speak to how much it's affected us necessarily," she said. "We've done a really good job in staying resilient." Earlier in the night, Sam Short fell agonisingly short of a gold medal, losing by just 0.02 seconds to German world record holder Lukas Martens. Short's time of 3:42.37 was 0.3 seconds slower than the time he swam in the morning's heats. But rather than express disappointment, Short said he was pleased to be back on a world championship podium after previously taking gold at the 2023 championships in Fukuoka. "So happy to be back on the podium," he said. 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"When I was with him with 100 to go, I knew it was going to be a dogfight — he's a pretty good level, he's the world record holder. "I knew I wasn't going to be pulling away and I was hurting as well. "I've got a good finish on me, and it wasn't quite good enough today." Short still has swims in the 800m and 1500m freestyle events and the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. In the women's 400m freestyle final, Lani Pallister was in second until the 250m mark, but faded to finish fourth behind world record holder Summer McIntosh. China's Bingjie Li was second, with US veteran Katie Ledecky in third. McIntosh's campaign to claim five individual gold medals at a world championships is on track and while her time of 3:56.26 is more than two seconds slower than the world record she set earlier this year, it was still two seconds faster than Li. Pallister's time of 3:58.87 was a personal best. "I think fourth is a bit shit, but if it's fourth and a PB you can't really ask for more," Pallister said. Pallister said a young girl from Singapore had given her a pin with a picture of her when she was five. She said she was looking at the pin as she made her way into the pool on Sunday night. "That little girl would think that I was like the coolest person in the world, to be standing in that final, let alone being fourth," she said. Another Australian, Pallister's lifelong friend Jamie Perkins, was sixth in a personal best time of 4:03.2. Perkins said she was "pretty disappointed", despite the personal best time, but said she was learning. "I'm still young, so see what we get moving forward," Perkins said.
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Green helps Aussies put on a Big Show for 4-0 T20 lead
Glenn Maxwell lived up to his Big Show nickname and Cameron Green and Josh Inglis continued their hot form, as Australia swept to a 4-0 lead in the T20I cricket series against West Indies in St Kitts. Chasing the home team's 9-205, Australia reached their target with three wickets and four balls to spare. They looked to be cruising at 2-129 at the halfway stage, after taking 21 off the 10th over, but lost 3-5. Green (55 not out off 35 balls) and the recalled Aaron Hardie (23 off 16) added 61, and the loss of two late wickets wasn't significant. Green, who scored his third half-century of the series, Inglis (51 off 30) and Maxwell (47 off 18) produced the batting fireworks. Maxwell, named man of the match, thrashed six sixes, including a trademark helicopter flick and a one-handed swipe over long-on. The Australian catching was exceptional, with Maxwell going low and leaping high to take two excellent efforts at mid-off in the powerplay, and Mitchell Owen taking a diving snare at deep backward point. Maxwell's excellent athleticism shone again late in the innings, when he took a high catch at long-on, and before falling over the boundary line he flicked the ball back to Green to complete the dismissal. "I put a lot of emphasis on my fielding, I think it's one of the things I've always held a high regard for," Maxwell told broadcaster ESPN. The West Indies innings was full of brief explosive batting cameos, with Sherfane Rutherford (31 off 15), Romario Shepherd (28 off 18), Rovman Powell (28 off 22) and Jason Holder (26 off 16) unable to push on. Wickets fell at regular intervals, but the home side maintained a strong run rate, smashing 21 fours and 12 sixes. Nathan Ellis (0-21 off four overs) and Hardie (2-24 off four) both bowled tidily on a small ground with short boundaries. Xavier Bartlett finished with 2-39 off his four overs. Paceman Sean Abbott (2-61 off 4) and legspinner Adam Zampa (3-54 off four) bore the brunt of the assault. Captain Mitchell Marsh was given out lbw for a second-ball duck, though technology showed he erred in not reviewing the decision, because the ball pitched outside leg stump. Inglis, who scored 78 not out in the second game, smashed the ball all around the ground. He added a six to 10 fours, one of which was an audacious reverse pull. Maxwell was largely a spectator in the first five overs, facing just three balls and scoring only one of Australia's first 49 runs off the bat, while Inglis tore into the West Indies bowlers. Inglis's pyrotechnics came to an end one ball after the powerplay when he hit a full toss to deep backward square leg. Maxwell was out first ball after the mid-innings break, swatting the ball to long-on, and Owen and Cooper Connolly fell cheaply to catches off left-arm quick Jediah Blades (3-29 off four). West Indies dropped three catches and bowled 16 wides as they extended their record for the most unsuccessful T20I defences of scores of over 200 to seven times. Captain Shai Hope rated their fielding across the seven tour matches, including three Tests, as "sub par". Australia can compete an eight-match winning sweep of the tour by taking out the final T20I in St Kitts on Tuesday. Glenn Maxwell lived up to his Big Show nickname and Cameron Green and Josh Inglis continued their hot form, as Australia swept to a 4-0 lead in the T20I cricket series against West Indies in St Kitts. Chasing the home team's 9-205, Australia reached their target with three wickets and four balls to spare. They looked to be cruising at 2-129 at the halfway stage, after taking 21 off the 10th over, but lost 3-5. Green (55 not out off 35 balls) and the recalled Aaron Hardie (23 off 16) added 61, and the loss of two late wickets wasn't significant. Green, who scored his third half-century of the series, Inglis (51 off 30) and Maxwell (47 off 18) produced the batting fireworks. Maxwell, named man of the match, thrashed six sixes, including a trademark helicopter flick and a one-handed swipe over long-on. The Australian catching was exceptional, with Maxwell going low and leaping high to take two excellent efforts at mid-off in the powerplay, and Mitchell Owen taking a diving snare at deep backward point. Maxwell's excellent athleticism shone again late in the innings, when he took a high catch at long-on, and before falling over the boundary line he flicked the ball back to Green to complete the dismissal. "I put a lot of emphasis on my fielding, I think it's one of the things I've always held a high regard for," Maxwell told broadcaster ESPN. The West Indies innings was full of brief explosive batting cameos, with Sherfane Rutherford (31 off 15), Romario Shepherd (28 off 18), Rovman Powell (28 off 22) and Jason Holder (26 off 16) unable to push on. Wickets fell at regular intervals, but the home side maintained a strong run rate, smashing 21 fours and 12 sixes. Nathan Ellis (0-21 off four overs) and Hardie (2-24 off four) both bowled tidily on a small ground with short boundaries. Xavier Bartlett finished with 2-39 off his four overs. Paceman Sean Abbott (2-61 off 4) and legspinner Adam Zampa (3-54 off four) bore the brunt of the assault. Captain Mitchell Marsh was given out lbw for a second-ball duck, though technology showed he erred in not reviewing the decision, because the ball pitched outside leg stump. Inglis, who scored 78 not out in the second game, smashed the ball all around the ground. He added a six to 10 fours, one of which was an audacious reverse pull. Maxwell was largely a spectator in the first five overs, facing just three balls and scoring only one of Australia's first 49 runs off the bat, while Inglis tore into the West Indies bowlers. Inglis's pyrotechnics came to an end one ball after the powerplay when he hit a full toss to deep backward square leg. Maxwell was out first ball after the mid-innings break, swatting the ball to long-on, and Owen and Cooper Connolly fell cheaply to catches off left-arm quick Jediah Blades (3-29 off four). West Indies dropped three catches and bowled 16 wides as they extended their record for the most unsuccessful T20I defences of scores of over 200 to seven times. Captain Shai Hope rated their fielding across the seven tour matches, including three Tests, as "sub par". Australia can compete an eight-match winning sweep of the tour by taking out the final T20I in St Kitts on Tuesday. Glenn Maxwell lived up to his Big Show nickname and Cameron Green and Josh Inglis continued their hot form, as Australia swept to a 4-0 lead in the T20I cricket series against West Indies in St Kitts. Chasing the home team's 9-205, Australia reached their target with three wickets and four balls to spare. They looked to be cruising at 2-129 at the halfway stage, after taking 21 off the 10th over, but lost 3-5. Green (55 not out off 35 balls) and the recalled Aaron Hardie (23 off 16) added 61, and the loss of two late wickets wasn't significant. Green, who scored his third half-century of the series, Inglis (51 off 30) and Maxwell (47 off 18) produced the batting fireworks. Maxwell, named man of the match, thrashed six sixes, including a trademark helicopter flick and a one-handed swipe over long-on. The Australian catching was exceptional, with Maxwell going low and leaping high to take two excellent efforts at mid-off in the powerplay, and Mitchell Owen taking a diving snare at deep backward point. Maxwell's excellent athleticism shone again late in the innings, when he took a high catch at long-on, and before falling over the boundary line he flicked the ball back to Green to complete the dismissal. "I put a lot of emphasis on my fielding, I think it's one of the things I've always held a high regard for," Maxwell told broadcaster ESPN. The West Indies innings was full of brief explosive batting cameos, with Sherfane Rutherford (31 off 15), Romario Shepherd (28 off 18), Rovman Powell (28 off 22) and Jason Holder (26 off 16) unable to push on. Wickets fell at regular intervals, but the home side maintained a strong run rate, smashing 21 fours and 12 sixes. Nathan Ellis (0-21 off four overs) and Hardie (2-24 off four) both bowled tidily on a small ground with short boundaries. Xavier Bartlett finished with 2-39 off his four overs. Paceman Sean Abbott (2-61 off 4) and legspinner Adam Zampa (3-54 off four) bore the brunt of the assault. Captain Mitchell Marsh was given out lbw for a second-ball duck, though technology showed he erred in not reviewing the decision, because the ball pitched outside leg stump. Inglis, who scored 78 not out in the second game, smashed the ball all around the ground. He added a six to 10 fours, one of which was an audacious reverse pull. Maxwell was largely a spectator in the first five overs, facing just three balls and scoring only one of Australia's first 49 runs off the bat, while Inglis tore into the West Indies bowlers. Inglis's pyrotechnics came to an end one ball after the powerplay when he hit a full toss to deep backward square leg. Maxwell was out first ball after the mid-innings break, swatting the ball to long-on, and Owen and Cooper Connolly fell cheaply to catches off left-arm quick Jediah Blades (3-29 off four). West Indies dropped three catches and bowled 16 wides as they extended their record for the most unsuccessful T20I defences of scores of over 200 to seven times. Captain Shai Hope rated their fielding across the seven tour matches, including three Tests, as "sub par". Australia can compete an eight-match winning sweep of the tour by taking out the final T20I in St Kitts on Tuesday.
