WBBL: Tournament final to be played the day before men’s competition as part of bumper weekend of cricket

This year’s Women’s Big Bash League final will be played the day before Perth Scorchers open the men’s season in Perth as part of a bumper weekend of Twenty20 cricket. The schedule for the tournament was revealed on Friday, with the Scorchers to host traditional rivals Sydney Sixers at the WACA Ground as part of a triple-header on the opening day of the season. The entire schedule has been pushed back a week to start in early November because of a clash with the one-day World Cup in South Africa, which will run through October. The Scorchers will host four matches at the WACA Ground — which they hope will be redeveloped in time — during the tournament. As revealed by The West Australian last month, that will include a Saturday night blockbuster after day two of The West Test. The Scorchers got their wish for a heavyweight opponent in that match, with Adelaide Strikers — winners of two of the past three titles — locked in. The famous ground will also host a Tuesday night match against Melbourne Renegades on December 2 and their final home-and-away match, against Brisbane Heat on December 6. They will host a neutral game against Melbourne Stars at Adelaide’s Karen Rolton Oval and also face Adelaide in a neutral fixture at Melbourne’s Junction Oval. No double-headers have been scheduled for the WACA Ground. The league’s final has been set for December 13 — a Saturday — the day before the Scorchers host Sydney Sixers and Pakistan superstar Babar Azam in the BBL season-opener the following night. Adelaide Oval will be the only current Test venue used during the tournament, with the league slowing up its push into major stadiums this season, largely due to availability issues. Sydney Cricket Ground and Melbourne Cricket Ground had also been used in recent seasons. “We have enjoyed being in bigger stadiums in recent years and looking forward to being back at the Adelaide Oval this year,” Big Bash general manager Alistair Dobson said. “The other games, largely due to scheduling reasons and needing to optimise those games, we haven’t found the right slot for them this year. “That’s not to say we won’t be back there in the future.”