2019–20 Women's Big Bash League season

The 2019–20 Women's Big Bash League season or WBBL|05 was the fifth season of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), the semi-professional women's Twenty20 domestic cricket competition in Australia. The tournament moved to a standalone calendar slot, shifting away from the men's BBL, beginning on 18 October and running to 8 December 2019.

The Sydney Sixers entered the season as "hot favourites", but they lost five consecutive games in the back-half of the tournament and missed out on qualifying for finals for the first time after captain Ellyse Perry sustained a shoulder injury. Defending champions Brisbane Heat finished the regular season on top of the ladder, earning the right to host all three playoff matches at Allan Border Field.

The Heat retained their title on 8 December 2019 when they defeated first-time finalist Adelaide Strikers, featuring Player of the Tournament Sophie Devine, by six wickets in the championship decider. Beth Mooney was named Player of the Final for the second consecutive season.

Teams Each 2019–20 squad featured 15 active players, with an allowance of up to five marquee signings including a maximum of three from overseas. Australian marquees were defined as players who held a national women's team contract at the time of signing on for their WBBL|05 team.

The table below lists each team's marquee players and other key details for the season.

Team Home ground Secondary grounds Coach Captain Australian representatives Overseas players Adelaide StrikersKaren Rolton Oval (4) Centennial Park Oval (1) Luke WilliamsSuzie Bates Megan SchuttAmanda-Jade WellingtonSarah CoyteTahlia McGrath Suzie Bates Sophie Devine Stafanie Taylor Lauren WinfieldBrisbane HeatAllan Border Field (5)Harrup Park (2)Ashley Noffke Kirby ShortJess JonassenDelissa KimminceBeth MooneyGrace Harris Maddy Green Amelia Kerr Hobart Hurricanes Blundstone Arena (2)West Park Oval (2)Invermay Park (1)Salliann Briggs Corinne HallNicola CareyBelinda VakarewaTayla Vlaeminck Heather Knight Chloe Tryon Fran WilsonHayley Matthews Melbourne RenegadesCitiPower Centre (5)Eastern Oval (1)Tim CoyleJess DuffinSophie MolineuxGeorgia WarehamJess DuffinMolly Strano Tammy Beaumont Lea Tahuhu Danielle WyattChamari Atapattu Melbourne StarsCitiPower Centre (6)– David Hemp Elyse VillaniElyse VillaniKristen BeamsHolly FerlingErin Osborne Mignon du Preez Lizelle Lee Katey Martin Perth ScorchersLilac Hill Park (4)WACA Ground (3) Lisa Keightley Meg LanningNicole BoltonMeg LanningHeather Graham Kim Garth Amy Jones Nat Sciver Sydney SixersNorth Sydney Oval (4)Hurstville Oval (3)Drummoyne Oval (1) Ben Sawyer Ellyse PerryAshleigh GardnerAlyssa HealyEllyse PerrySarah AleyErin BurnsLauren Cheatle Dane van Niekerk Marizanne Kapp Hollie Armitage Sydney ThunderDrummoyne Oval (2) Bankstown Oval (1)Blacktown ISP Oval (1)Manuka Oval (1)North Dalton Park (1)North Sydney Oval (1) Trevor GriffinRachael HaynesRachael HaynesAlex BlackwellRene FarrellNaomi Stalenberg Nida Dar Shabnim Ismail Rachel Priest

Personnel changes The pre-season was noted as particularly busy for player transfers which produced some of the biggest recruiting achievements in the tournament's five-year history.

Local players The table below lists local player movements made ahead of the season. PlayerDeparted→JoinedNotesRef(s)Nicola CareySydney Thunder→Hobart Hurricanes Australian marqueeBelinda VakarewaSydney Thunder→Hobart HurricanesMaisy GibsonSydney Thunder→Hobart HurricanesTayla VlaeminckMelbourne Renegades→Hobart HurricanesJosie DooleyBrisbane Heat→Melbourne RenegadesJemma BarsbyBrisbane Heat→Perth ScorchersElyse VillaniPerth Scorchers→Melbourne Stars Australian marqueeKatie MackMelbourne Stars→Adelaide StrikersEmily SmithPerth Scorchers→Hobart HurricanesReturning to the Hobart HurricanesGeorgia RedmayneHobart Hurricanes→Perth ScorchersMikayla HinkleyHobart Hurricanes→Brisbane HeatFourth WBBL team (previously played for the Sydney Thunder and Perth Scorchers)Lauren EbsaryPerth Scorchers→–RetiredVeronica PykeHobart Hurricanes→–RetiredSamantha BettsAdelaide Strikers→Perth ScorchersTahlia WilsonSydney Sixers→Sydney ThunderCarly LeesonSydney Sixers→Melbourne Renegades Changes made during the season included:

On 18 November 2019, Emily Smith was banned for the remainder of WBBL|05 after contravening Cricket Australia's anti-corruption policy with a social media post. Under a special exemption, Tasmanian Tigers member Emma Manix-Geeves was brought into the Hobart Hurricanes squad as a replacement.

Overseas players Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana did not re-sign for the Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes respectively on account of a conflicting national team schedule, marking the first WBBL season to not feature any Indian-born players. This fixturing clash followed a dispute between the BCCI and CA earlier in the year when Australia's top talent (such as Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy) were excluded from the 2019 Women's T20 Challenge—an exhibition tournament serving as a potential precursor to a future female equivalent of the Indian Premier League. ESPNcricinfo reported this breakdown was part of a wider disagreement between the two boards that revolved around the BCCI's insistence on CA honouring a touring commitment to play a men's bi-lateral ODI series in India in January 2020.

The table below lists changes to overseas player allocations made ahead of the season. PlayerDeparted→JoinedNotesRef(s) Tammy Beaumont–→Melbourne RenegadesPreviously played for the Adelaide Strikers Chloe Tryon–→Hobart Hurricanes Fran Wilson–→Hobart HurricanesPreviously played for the Sydney Thunder Nat Sciver–→Perth ScorchersReturning to the Perth Scorchers Kim Garth–→Perth ScorchersPreviously played for the Sydney Sixers Maddy Green–→Brisbane Heat Amelia Kerr–→Brisbane Heat Stafanie TaylorSydney Thunder→Adelaide Strikers Lauren Winfield–→Adelaide Strikers Replacement player Third WBBL team (previously played for the Brisbane Heat and Hobart Hurricanes) Nida Dar–→Sydney ThunderFirst Pakistani woman to sign with an international cricket league Shabnim Ismail–→Sydney ThunderPreviously played for the Melbourne Renegades Danielle HazellAdelaide Strikers→– Suné LuusBrisbane Heat→– Laura WolvaardtBrisbane Heat→– Smriti MandhanaHobart Hurricanes→– Alex HartleyHobart Hurricanes→– Amy SatterthwaiteMelbourne Renegades→–Maternity leave Georgia ElwissMelbourne Stars→– Kate CrossPerth Scorchers→– Hayley JensenPerth Scorchers→– Sara McGlashanSydney Sixers→–Retired Harmanpreet KaurSydney Thunder→– Changes made during the season included:

On 19 November, the Sydney Sixers announced the signing of English marquee Hollie Armitage, replacing captain Ellyse Perry who would miss five games due to a shoulder injury. After scoring a T20I century for Sri Lanka against Australia on 29 September 2019, Chamari Atapattu stated in a post-match press conference she had not been offered a contract for the upcoming Women's Big Bash League season despite her eagerness to participate again (she had previously played for the Melbourne Renegades in WBBL|03), underlining the league's fierce competition for marquee signings. However, it was announced on 30 November that Atapattu had signed with the Renegades for their last regular season game and finals. She replaced Tammy Beaumont who—along with Danni Wyatt, Nat Sciver, Amy Jones and Lauren Winfield—would miss out on the WBBL|05 finals due to national team commitments.

Leadership Coaching changes made ahead of the season included:

Ashley Noffke was appointed head coach of the Brisbane Heat, replacing Peter McGiffin. Trevor Griffin was appointed head coach of the Sydney Thunder, replacing Joanne Broadbent. Luke Williams was appointed head coach of the Adelaide Strikers, replacing Andrea McCauley.

Captaincy changes made ahead of the season included:

Corinne Hall reassumed the captaincy of the Hobart Hurricanes, after Sasha Moloney (2–12 win–loss record) stepped into the position for a season. Jess Duffin was appointed captain of the Melbourne Renegades, replacing Amy Satterthwaite. Despite not playing due to maternity leave, the Renegades announced Satterthwaite would continue to contribute off-field in a specialist coaching capacity throughout WBBL|05. Rachael Haynes was appointed captain of the Sydney Thunder, replacing Alex Blackwell (36–22). Elyse Villani was appointed captain of the Melbourne Stars, replacing Kristen Beams (7–12).

Captaincy changes made during the season included:

Alex Blackwell stood in as acting captain of the Sydney Thunder for one game on 10 November, replacing Rachael Haynes who was sidelined with a foot injury. Molly Strano stood in as acting captain of the Melbourne Renegades for one game on 17 November, replacing Jess Duffin. It was later revealed Duffin was sidelined due to morning sickness. Alyssa Healy stood in as acting captain of the Sydney Sixers for five games from 20 November to 1 December, replacing Ellyse Perry who was sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Points table

Win–loss table Below is a summary of results for each team's fourteen regular season matches, plus finals where applicable, in chronological order. A team's opponent for any given match is listed above the margin of victory/defeat. Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 SF F 2nd() 1st() XX7th X4th() XX8th X3rd() XX5th XX6th Team's results→ Won Tied Lost

Fixtures All times are local time

Week 1

Thunder batters Alex Blackwell and Phoebe Litchfield set a new WBBL record for highest fourth-wicket partnership in their pursuit of the Heat's 9/150. The unbeaten 97-run stand, which got the Thunder over the line with seven balls to spare, was noted for the 20-year age gap between the two batting partners. At 16 years and 185 days, Litchfield also set a new WBBL record as the youngest player to score a half-century.

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

The Renegades, requiring 28 runs off the last 12 deliveries with only three wickets in hand, pulled off a "great escape" victory against the Sixers through a last-ball six from Courtney Webb against the bowling of Marizanne Kapp. It marked the first time a WBBL team had won a match when needing more than four runs off the final legal delivery. The ramifications of the result were season-shaping as the Renegades went on to edge out the Sixers for fourth spot on the ladder, making it the first season the Sixers would fail to qualify for finals.

Week 6

The Sixers entered the match having defeated the Hurricanes in their first eleven encounters, holding a WBBL record for the longest head-to-head winning streak. With captain Ellyse Perry sidelined due to a shoulder injury, they faltered early to a score of 5/30. A resurgence, led by Marizanne Kapp's unbeaten 55 off 40 balls, helped Sydney to a total of 7/134. Hobart's chase got off to a shaky start as they found themselves down 4/22 after five overs. A healthy partnership between batters Nicola Carey and Corinne Hall came to an end in the 15th over when Hall was spectacularly caught by former Hurricanes player Erin Burns in the outfield. With 44 runs required from the final 33 deliveries, Carey went on to make 55 not out while a quickfire 29 by Chloe Tryon sealed victory for the Hurricanes with five wickets in hand and ten balls remaining. In addition to snapping their elongated head-to-head losing streak, the win set a new mark for Hobart's highest successful run chase. Belinda Vakarewa, who sliced through the Sixers' top-order, was named Player of the Match for her bowling figures of 4/19.

Week 7

Knockout phase

Semi-finals