Eight teams announced for Women's BBL

Cricket Australia have today revealed the future of women’s domestic Twenty20 cricket, and it’s set to be coloured in shades of blue, teal, purple, red, green, orange, lime and magenta.

In an announcement released today, it was confirmed the proposed 2015 Women’s Big Bash League will feature franchises aligned with the current men’s competition - with the new franchises adopting the same colours and team name.

The new league will replace the current Women’s T20, run in conjunction with the Women’s National Cricket League, and will see two teams each in Melbourne and Sydney, with the Tradies ACT Meteors missing out on reorientation in the shortest format.

“We see T20 as the premium format of the women’s game and the WBBL is an exciting concept that will increase the promotion and exposure of women’s cricket,” Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland said in a media release.

“We want cricket to be the number one sport for girls and women in Australia and we believe that the WBBL can assist this goal by creating an inspiring visible pathway for the next generation of players, fans and volunteers.

“Aligning the WBBL brands with the BBL brands will help cricket to appeal to a broader audience and gain greater exposure.”

The WBBL will likely see the redistribution of the country’s two most dominant T20 sides, the NSW Lend Lease Breakers and Commonwealth Bank VicSpirit, across four franchises. The two teams have nine final appearances and five premierships in six seasons between them – as well as at least 11 Southern Stars representatives.

Meg Lanning showed off some big hitting in the WT20 final

With the format of the WBBL still being discussed, its effect on the one-day WNCL competition is currently unknown.

“Our existing female domestic competitions are arguably the strongest in the world,” Sutherland said, “with the continued success of the top-ranked women’s team, the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars, a testament to that.

“The WBBL will build on this foundation and will create a clear participation pathway for girls and their families, who are already engaged with cricket through the BBL.

“Players such as Meg Lanning, Alex Blackwell, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy continue to be exceptional ambassadors for Australian Cricket, both on and off the field.

“They invest a huge amount of time and energy into their cricket and they each play an important role in promoting cricket as sport for all Australians.

“With the introduction of a WBBL, we want young girls to be able to dream about growing up and following in their footsteps.”