The Women’s Big Bash League returns for its second season this year and the competition’s new and improved sponsors, advertisement and broadcasting schedule has made the anticipation for the WBBL match that of the upcoming AFLW competition.
Network 10 will televise a whopping 12 WBBL games this season, and all 47 games will be streamed live on Cricket Australia’s website (cricket.com.au) and Facebook. Every Men’s BBL will have a women’s affiliate, bringing in the best talent from home and abroad to compete in what will now be regarded as the world’s premier domestic women’s competition.
The competition kicks off on the 10th of December with massive triple header culminating in last years champions the Sydney Thunder squaring off against my pick for WBBL02 the Melbourne Stars at 6.10pm.
TIP: Melbourne Stars to Win WBBL02 - $6 at Sportsbet
Today’s we will give you a brief run-down of the squads and some of their star players, as well as give you the odds leading into the tournament.
Adelaide Strikers
The Strikers will be looking to improve on a disappointing inaugural WBBL season. They finished 7th on the table with six wins from their 14 matches. Only three wins separated the top team from them last year, they will be confident that they can be in the mix this season having signed English legend Charlotte Edwards.
Sportsbet Title Odds: $7
In: Charlotte Edwards (Scorchers), Tabatha Saville, Katelyn Pope
Out: Lauren Ebsary (Scorchers)
Retained: Samantha Betts, Sarah Coyte, Megan Schutt, Amanda Wellington
Brisbane Heat
The Heat were one of the two unlucky teams to miss finals by net run rate. They will be hoping they can go one better in WBBL02 after having arguably the busiest off season of all teams. They were able to land two huge international signatures in West Indian Deandra Dottin and rising India star Smriti Mandhana. However, in the rush to sign international stars, they waved goodbye to Australian player Grace Harris, which could prove to be a costly loss.
Sportsbet Title Odds: $6.50
In: Smriti Mandhana (India), Deandra Dottin (West Indies), Kara Sutherland (Sixers)
Out: Ash Barty, Grace Harris (Renegades), Kate Cross (England), Lauren Winfield (England)
Retained: Jemma Barsby, Holly Ferling, Courtney Hill, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Beth Mooney
Hobart Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have had a quieter off-season than their counterparts. While English Captain and superstar Heather Knight returns to lead the team, they will back their roster in to go a step further after being eliminated in the semifinal last year.
Sportsbet Title Odds: $6
In: Georgia Redmayne
Out: Emily Smith (Scorchers)
Retained: Julie Hunter, Veronica Pyke, Heather Knight (England), Erin Burns, Corinne Hall, Emma Thompson, Brooke Hepburn, Katelyn Fryett, Meg Phillips, Sasha Moloney, Celeste Raack, Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amy Satterthwaite (New Zealand)
Melbourne Renegades
Australian capped player Grace Harris will add some much-needed batting firepower to the team that finished on the bottom of last year’s WBBL table. With only four wins last year, the Renegades needed to make some changes, and that’s exactly what they have done.
Sportsbet Title Odds: $8
In: Grace Harris (Heat), Nicole Goodwin, Maitlan Brown, Tayla Vlaeminck
Out: TBA
Retained: Kris Britt, Kirsty Lamb, Sophie Molineux, Rachel Priest (New Zealand), Georgia Wareham, Danni Wyatt (England)
Melbourne Stars
The Stars were the 2nd team to heartbreakingly miss finals by net run rate last year. Their WBBL02 team on paper however, suggests that won’t be their fate for the 2nd year running. The Stars landed prized recruit Jess Cameron who returned to cricket from a break earlier this year. Adding Cameron with arguably the most dominate batter in all of cricket (including the men) in Meg Lanning, makes for a formidable lineup.
Sportsbet Title Odds: $6
In: Jess Cameron
Out: TBA
Retained: Kristen Beams Emma Kearney, Meg Lanning, Alana King, Katie Mack
Perth Scorchers
The Scorchers finished 4th in the innaugral WBBL with seven wins from their 14 matches. They boast an extremely dangerous batting lineup, with the two Australian ODI openers in Nicole Bolton and Elyse Villani proving inseparable on a domestic level as well. English superstar pace bowler Anya Shrubsole was in the squad last year but failed to play a game, however, she looks set to pull on the boots this year, bolstering the Scorchers bowling stocks as well.
Sportsbet Title Odds: $7
In: Mathilda Carmichael, Lauren Ebsary (Strikers), Emily Smith (Hurricanes)
Out: Nicky Shaw, Jenny Wallace (both retired), Deandra Dottin (Heat), Charlotte Edwards (Strikers)
Retained: Megan Banting, Suzie Bates (OS), Emma Biss, Nicole Bolton, Katherine Brunt (England) Piepa Cleary, Heather Graham, Katie Hartshorn, Emma King, Chloe Piparo, Anya Shrubsole (England), Elyse Villani
Sydney Sixers
The Sydney Sixers fell agonizingly short last year, losing to their cross town rivals in the final with only three balls to spare. The Sixers however, are in the enviable position of having arguably to of the best and most exciting Australian women’s players to ever wield the bat. All-Rounder Ellyse Perry will captain the side while Alyssa Healy will provide electrifying top order batting as the Sixers look to go one step further in WBBL02
Sportsbet Title Odds: $6.50
In: Haylee Hoffmeister, Carly Leeson
Out: Kara Sutherland (Heat)
Retained: Sarah Aley, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Emily Leys, Lauren Smith, Lisa Sthalekar
Sydney Thunder
The reigning champs go from strength to strength this year. While they don’t have quite as much home grown star power in their ranks, the Thunder will bring back T20 player of the year and West Indian Captain Stefanie Taylor back for a 2nd year. They also landed the highly sought after signature of Indian star Harmanpreet Kaur, which will make them a force to be reckoned with once again.
Sportsbet Title Odds: $5
In: Harmanpreet Kaur
Out: TBA
Retained: Alex Blackwell (captain), Nicola Carey, Lauren Cheatle, Stef Daffara, Rene Farrell, Maisy Gibson, Erin Osborne, Naomi Stalenberg, Stafanie Taylor
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
