T20 Spring Challenge

Last updated
T20 Spring Challenge
Countries Australia
Administrator Cricket Australia
Format Twenty20
First edition 2024
Next edition2025
Tournament format4 Matches per Team, then Knockout Finals
Number of teams 9
Current champion Hobart Hurricanes
Most successful Hobart Hurricanes (1 title)
Most runs Lizelle Lee (252)
Most wickets Nicola Hancock (10)
TV Seven Network
Fox Cricket
Website www.cricket.com.au
Cricket current event.svg Current season

The T20 Spring Challenge is the Australian women's domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Australia. organised by the Cricket Australia. The first edition of the tournament took place in 2024. [1] [2]

Contents

The competition began in 2024 and currently features eight Women's Big Bash League teams plus the ACT Meteors competing in a round-robin group stage. The competition runs before the Women's Big Bash League. [3]

History

In July 2024, Cricket Australia introduces a new domestic Twenty20 Cricket event, called T20 Spring Challenge. that forms part of the Australia domestic cricket season. The league was aimed to make up for the absence of high-profile matches in Australia every year and to expose talented players from Country. [4]

The 2024 tournament is scheduled to start on 11 October and will conclude on 20 October. It will be the first edition of the tournament.

The new nine-team T20 competition – created to ensure there would be no overall reduction in women's domestic games following the shortening of the WBBL – features teams aligned with the eight Big Bash clubs along with the ACT Meteors.

Each team will play four matches before the top four play off in the semi-finals and final.

A 18 regular season games will be played across seven days, before the semi-finals on Saturday, October 19 and the final on Sunday, October 20. All finals games will be held at Cricket NSW's Cricket Central homebase in Silverwater.

The tournament will coincide with Australia's 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup campaign in Bangladesh, meaning the majority of CA contracted players will not be available.

However that, alongside the absence of overseas players, will create opportunities for others to take on key roles, and for fringe WBBL squad members to impress before WBBL 10 kicks off on October 27. [5]

Organisation

The league's structure is based on the structure of the WBBL.

Initially there are nine teams, with sides playing against each other in a double round robin format, and the four teams finishing with the most points entering the knockout-stage of the competition.

The first season of the league took place from 11 October to 20 October 2024, and featured 21 matches, all held at and in Sydney and Adelaide. Tickets were made available free to women during the first season.

Teams

TeamLocation [lower-alpha 1] Home ground [lower-alpha 2] CoachCaptainTitles won
ACT Meteors Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Manuka Oval, Canberra Erin Osborne
Adelaide Strikers North Adelaide, South Australia Karen Rolton Oval Luke Williams Tahlia McGrath
Brisbane Heat Albion, Queensland Allan Border Field Ashley Noffke Jess Jonassen
Hobart Hurricanes Bellerive, Tasmania Blundstone Arena Jude Coleman Elyse Villani 1
Melbourne Renegades St Kilda, Victoria CitiPower Centre Simon Helmot Sophie Molineux
Melbourne Stars St Kilda, Victoria CitiPower Centre Jonathan Batty
Perth Scorchers East Perth, Western Australia WACA Ground Shelley Nitschke
Sydney Sixers Moore Park, New South Wales North Sydney Oval Charlotte Edwards
Sydney Thunder Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales Blacktown ISP Oval Trevor Griffin

Venues

Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Adelaide Sydney
Karen Rolton Oval, Adelaide North Sydney Oval, Sydney Cricket Central, Sydney Allan Border Oval, Mosman, Sydney

Tournament seasons and results

Finals

SeasonWinnerWinning marginRunner-upFinal venuePlayer of the season
2024 Hobart Hurricanes Hobart Hurricanes won by 5 wickets
Scorecard
Brisbane Heat Cricket Central, Sydney

Records and statistics

A summary of the most notable statistical records associated with the tournament is provided below:

Batting Records
Most runs Lizelle Lee 252
Highest score Madeline Penna 113
Highest partnership Anika Learoyd & Tahlia Wilson 137
Most fours Lizelle Lee 36
Most sixes Laura Harris, Lizelle Lee 9
Most fifties Lizelle Lee, Tahlia Wilson 2
Most hundreds Laura Harris, Lizelle Lee, Madeline Penna 1
Bowling Records
Most wickets Nicola Hancock 10
Best bowling figures Amanda-Jade Wellington 4/18
Fielding
Most dismissals (wicket-keeper) Georgia Redmayne 7
Most catches (fielder) Laura Harris 6
Team records
Highest total Sydney Thunder 183/3
Lowest total ACT Metors 93/10

Broadcasting

In July 2024, Fox Sports, announced it had acquired the global media rights for TV and digital broadcasts for the tournament. The initial season of the league is broadcasting in Australia on the Fox Sports TV channel and the Kayo Sports app. [1]

The first season of the competition was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports, in India by Fancode, in the United States and Canada by Willow TV and in South Africa by SuperSports, in New Zealand it is aired by Sky Sport NZ.

Broadcasters for the T20 Spring Challenge
RegionCountry/Sub-regionTelevision BroadcasterStreaming
Asia Afghanistan Ariana Television
Bangladesh
India Fancode
Hong Kong Astro Cricket
Malaysia
Pakistan PTV Sports
Ten Sports
Singapore StarHub
Sri Lanka
Europe Netherlands
Ireland Sky Sports
United Kingdom
Americas Canada Willow
United States
Caribbean ESPN Caribbean
Oceania Australia Fox Sports Foxtel
Kayo Sports
New Zealand Sky Sport NZ
Papua New Guinea TVWan
Africa Middle East and North Africa
African Union Super Sport

Notes

  1. Administrative and training base
  2. Primary ground for WBBL|08

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References

  1. 1 2 "Schedule locked in for new T20 Challenge, 2024-25 WNCL". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  2. "ACT to join WBBL teams in new women's T20 comp". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  3. "Everything you need to know about the T20 Spring Challenge". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  4. "All You Need to Know about the Inaugural Women's T20 Spring Challenge". female cricket. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  5. "Inaugural Women's T20 Spring Challenge Squad". Adelaide strikers. Retrieved 13 October 2024.