Hopes high that WBBL fixture clash a 'one-off'

Cricket Australia is confident this year's scheduling conflict between the Rebel WBBL competition and the women's T20 Challenge series of exhibition matches run in parallel with the Indian Premier League is a "one-off" anomaly that is unlikely to recur.

Leading women's players from around the world have called for closer co-operation between cricket boards to avoid a repeat of the upcoming COVID19-related clash that sees India's three-team round-robin staged during the early November window in which the second standalone WBBL will also be held.

As a result, some of the game's biggest names will be prevented from appearing in both competitions because of the duplication and the quarantine restrictions that continue to prevent free movement of international travellers.

However, CA's interim Chief Executive Officer Nick Hockley and Director Mel Jones today claimed the scheduling difficulties that have arisen amid the global pandemic, and which forced the IPL to shift from its traditional April-May window to October-November, make for exceptional circumstances.

And once the cricket calendar is able to resume some semblance of normality, it is expected future women's Challenge T20 competitions will remain aligned to the IPL schedule and thereby present the WBBL with 'clean air'.

"This year is an atypical year with everything going on," Hockley said today.

"The reality is you have the whole IPL infrastructure in Dubai (relocated due to COVID19 restrictions in India), and that's been postponed and moved to a different timeslot.

"Hopefully it's a one-year anomaly given a lot has been disrupted this year."

Jones, the former Australia Test player who joined CA's Board last year, added the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was committed to ensuring the world's best players were available for the IPL and had indicated they were taking the same approach to future women's competitions.

"From my perspective, I'm rapt in the sense they (BCCI) made sure the Challenge was still on and giving a pathway for young Indian players to come through," she said.

"We want to see Indian teams getting better and better because it makes global cricket better as well.

"For this once-off it's not ideal in the sense it clashes with the WBBL and we'd love to see the Indian players here, but moving forward we'll have the clear windows so our players can go over there and their players come here."

Hockley and Jones spoke with media today on the release of CA's third Press for Progress report that details the steps being taken and milestones achieved towards making cricket Australia's leading sport for women and girls.

The report is sub-titled 'The Greatest Year in the History of the Women's Elite Game in Australia' and follows the successful first standalone WBBL season and the record-breaking T20 World Cup that drew 86,174 to the final at the MCG where Australia defeated India.

That game was played just days before the COVID19 outbreak brought sporting competitions the world over to a standstill,

The absence of international women's competition since last March, with South Africa pulling out of a planned tour to the UK due to coronavirus travel restrictions, has raised concerns the gap between leading nations (Australia, England and New Zealand) and emerging women's teams might widen.

Jones said that remained a risk now the ICC's scheduled women's 50-over World Cup that was due to be staged in NZ early next year has been postponed for 12 months, but added her belief there is sufficient collective international will to ensure the women's game continues to thrive.

She and Hockley agreed that CA, as a leader in the growth and support of women's cricket, has a hugely influential role to play in fostering the development of talent and administrative infrastructure in other nations.

"It's an issue across global sport at the moment, but I think we've got enough good cricket brains at the table to make sure we can at least take advantage of as many opportunities as we can over the next twelve months," Jones said of the game's COVID-related challenges.

"We need to be really mindful that while we have put a set-up in place for our national players being fully professional, that's still not quite the case for a lot of the international players around the world.

"So the more we can play a part in assisting other nations build their competitions, it also means we're assisting athletes becoming full-time professional athletes as well.

Hockley added: "I think we've got a massive responsibility."

"Certainly, the commitment from across the game and across the (CA) administration is to not take a backward step and to capitalise on all the momentum we've seen."

The Press for Progress report also identified key decisions in the development of women's elite pathways programs, including CA's successful push for a women's Under-19 World Cup (to have been held in Bangladesh next year) and more regular fixturing of Australia A tours.

Both those competitions have since become victims of the COVID19 pandemic, but Jones said they would remain 'front of mind' when restrictions lifted and programming became less problematic.

She said thought must be given to how Australia A matches and tours might fit best into the overall women's schedule, while the U19 World Cup remained a key priority that was essential for the continued growth of the women's game beyond its current strongholds.

"It is something we've been pushing for many a year," Jones said of the planned under-19 event.

"It's a slightly different one too for the women's game, because typically the younger players coming through go straight into the national side.

"It is going to be critical for us, but unfortunately at the moment it might have to take, not a sideways step, but a bit of a pause to see where they (ICC) can fit it in and to also make sure the nations providing those teams are in a good position to send teams."

Hockley also reaffirmed CA's commitment to delivering a full summer schedule of top-level women's fixtures that includes the Women's National Cricket League, although the potential timing of that competition remained "a work in progress".

And he said discussions were ongoing to finalise a proposed tour by India's women's team early next year, as well as Australia's subsequent visit to New Zealand in the vacancy created by the recent postponement of the ICC World Cup.

"There's a bit to work through, but certainly there's a great willingness to keep the momentum around the international calendar notwithstanding the World Cup has been pushed out," he said.

"It's something we're actively considering and discussing with BCCI and Cricket New Zealand at the moment."