AAA<\/p>\n
The loudest voices in Australian cricket are currently shaping the debate on the future of the Big Bash<\/a>.<\/p>\n Phenomenal windfalls seen around the Indian Premier League and the Hundred in England, combined with increased global jostling for Twenty20 talent<\/a> and a disrupted market tightening sums available via broadcast rights, have decision makers narrowing in on not whether privatisation is the right path, but rather what form that path should take.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll leave it to others to discuss the merits, and pitfalls, of privatisation, with that topic extensively debated.<\/p>\n Instead, I\u2019m interested in the topic that is barely rating a mention at all.<\/p>\n Related Article Where is the Women\u2019s Big Bash League in all of this?<\/p>\n Reading the coverage and listening to interviews with the sport\u2019s leaders<\/a>, you could be forgiven for forgetting one of the world\u2019s premier women\u2019s cricket competitions even exists.<\/p>\n Occasionally, the WBBL slips in as a throwaway comment at the back end; something that comes attached to the asset being sold, like the steak knives in the old Demtel ads, as opposed to being an asset in its own right.<\/p>\n And frankly, I could do without the sense of deja vu. It wasn\u2019t always this way.<\/p>\n Significant effort and investment went into rewiring cricket to respect and realise the value of women\u2019s cricket. The creation of the WBBL in 2015 marked a profound shift in how Australian cricket viewed the opportunity that is women and girls in sport.<\/p>\n For the first time, women\u2019s cricket was not being reduced to a cost centre or a participation program. It was recognised as a product capable of attracting fans, sponsors, broadcasters and investment.<\/p>\n That belief helped transform not only Australian cricket, but Australian sport. AFLW, NRLW and Super W were just some of the developments that followed.<\/p>\n It contributed to unprecedented participation growth; within just a few years, there was a 2000 per cent increase in all-girls teams played out in community clubs across the country.<\/p>\n It built household names. It helped retain key commercial partners. It culminated in the largest women\u2019s cricket match in history, and the largest women\u2019s sporting event ever held in Australia, with a sold-out MCG for the Women\u2019s T20 World Cup final in 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n It demonstrated what was possible when women\u2019s sport was backed with ambition and resources.<\/p>\n Everything that\u2019s been said about the Matildas over the past three years<\/a> was said about women\u2019s cricket first, just as the world slid into the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n It is true that the men\u2019s Big Bash League remains the overwhelming driver of broadcast and sponsorship revenue. By extension, a BBL team will be more valuable today than a WBBL team.<\/p>\n But for WBBL to not even feature in the public debate? That\u2019s a mistake.<\/p>\n Investors worldwide are increasingly recognising women\u2019s teams as one of the industry\u2019s most significant growth opportunities, and an asset class on the rise.<\/p>\n It\u2019s barely three years since more than $800 million was paid for five licences to launch the Women\u2019s Premier League. Around the world, funds worth more than $2 billion have been launched solely to invest in women\u2019s sport properties. In the US, National Women\u2019s Soccer League expansion fees have grown 200-fold since 2020, while the WNBA\u2019s Golden State Valkyries recently became the world\u2019s first billion-dollar women\u2019s sport team.<\/p>\n Not a single dollar from that $2 billion is currently directed at Australia.<\/p>\n Related Article So again, why aren\u2019t we talking about the WBBL, if the driver for privatisation is purely economic?<\/p>\n Regardless of whether internal conversations within cricket\u2019s boardrooms differ, at the very least, the cricketing public is once again being told that women\u2019s cricket isn\u2019t part of the main game.<\/p>\n And you cannot build excitement, let alone investment, in an asset you rarely bother to discuss.<\/p>\n Sarah Styles is the former Director of the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation, a non-executive director of the Victorian Institute of Sport, former investment banker and served as Cricket Australia\u2019s inaugural head of female engagement from 2014-20.<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport are sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Australian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/988842da4a8cb0877d56385bf0c1eaad0f8e08a9.jpeg\")
Australian star Ellyse Perry.Dominic Lorrimer<\/p>\n![\"Melbourne's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781715809_744_0da2904a35906aa01c1a51e6c9c235b3708b5bbe.jpeg\")
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Australian star Annabel Sutherland on the attack for the Melbourne Stars in the WBBL.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Matildas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2a97827cbc5678c2badb4632f183f41e468b18e5.jpeg\")
Matildas captain Sam Kerr (left) is a global icon.Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Australia\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/7cf73d140b7dc626ca43423e7a451c166e9f5350.jpeg\")
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