Domestic 50-over competition to feature at least 16 day-night games in 2026-27, twice as many as last season
Many of Australia’s World Cup winners are set to feature in September’s opening round of the Women’s National Cricket League, which will feature more matches under lights than ever before in its 2026-27 season.
But Cricket Australia has acknowledged windows for its leading women to feature in domestic cricket, outside the WBBL, are diminishing given their schedules are becoming as busy as the men’s.
Full 2026-27 schedule
WNCL 2026-27
T20 Spring Challenge 2026
The WNCL will begin on September 29 with many of those who lifted the T20 World Cup trophy at Lord’s expected to play ahead of Australia’s home international season beginning October 9 with a three-ODI series against Bangladesh.
The T20 Spring Challenge competition follows before the WBBL begins late October. The WNCL does not then resume until December, meaning some domestic players will play as few as two 50-over games before Christmas due to early-season byes.
A further challenge for CA’s scheduling guru Peter Roach was the women’s Australia A tour of India in September, designed to prepare the next rung of players for a tour there in 2027-28.
Those involved in only the white-ball fixtures of that A trip could be back in time for the first WNCL round. But the four-day game in Dharamshala overlaps with the start of the domestic season, an identical issue faced on the men’s side with their own Australia A tour of India slated for September-October.
The Weber WBBL|12 season runs through November and finishes in early December, while a bulk of leading players then play in India’s Women’s Premier League in January. The ICC has scheduled a Champions Trophy in February, while New Zealand will complete the second (ODI) leg of a tour to Australia they are slated to begin (with three T20Is) in October.
A multi-format tour of South Africa follows for Sophie Molineux’s world champions.
“It’s a growing challenge that we’ve got more A cricket and international cricket being played across the breadth of our summer,” said Roach.
“As the women’s game has grown, that challenge has become more prominent and the WPL as well you could include as ‘international’ content. We try and balance that across the season, so no teams are affected more (than others).
“As the years go by, it’s becoming a little bit more like the men where finding opportunities for them to compete in domestic cricket – where it used to be the norm, and used to be unusual for them not to be playing, now it’s probably the opposite.
“Teams expect their (players) in Australia’s best XI not to be playing. That was probably the interesting thing about the A tour – there were more concerns from teams around losing that next band of players than actually their (Australia regulars).”
At least 16 WNCL games will be day-night affairs, twice as many as last season. It is understood more could be added to the schedule in Queensland and Tasmania.
Work is also underway on light towers at NSW’s Cricket Central, which is expected to host night cricket as soon as the work is completed, which Cricket NSW has flagged for October 2026.
The addition of lights to Junction Oval is the main factor in the increase, with all six of Victoria’s home games to be played as day-nighters.
“This is a competition that we use … ideally to prepare players to perform well in international cricket, and we know that the big games in international cricket are generally day-night in one-day cricket, or night games in T20,” said Roach.
“Giving (players) the opportunities wherever we can to play night cricket is an absolute priority.”
The Spring Challenge also features three night games (more could be added if the Cricket Central lights are ready by the finals on October 20-21) in its third season.
The nine-team T20 competition (featuring the eight WBBL sides plus ACT) was introduced in 2024 to ensure there would be no overall cut in women’s domestic games after the number of WBBL games was reduced under a broadcast deal.
The future of the competition is uncertain amid CA’s push to privatise W/BBL teams next year.
“We know it’s valued in terms of providing opportunities for players,” said Roach. “Because there are a few more teams, the talent is spread a little bit wider, so the opportunities are spread at the same time.
“Certainly in preparation for the WBBL, it’s seen as a valuable tool by WBBL teams and the states for that. What the future holds, we don’t know. There’s obviously a bit going on in the T20 space at the minute, so we’ll wait and see where that goes.”
Women’s National Cricket League 2026-27
Round 1
Sep 29: Victoria v South Australia | Junction Oval D/N
Sep 29: New South Wales v Queensland | Cricket Central
Sep 29: Western Australia v Tasmania | WACA Ground D/N
Oct 1: Victoria v South Australia | Junction Oval D/N
Oct 1: New South Wales v Queensland | Cricket Central
Oct 1: Western Australia v Tasmania | WACA Ground D/N
(Bye: ACT)
Round 2
Dec 14: South Australia v Western Australia | Karen Rolton Oval
Dec 15: ACT v New South Wales | EPC Solar Park
Dec 16: South Australia v Western Australia | Karen Rolton Oval
Dec 17: ACT v New South Wales | EPC Solar Park
Dec 20: Tasmania v Victoria | Ninja Stadium
Dec 22: Tasmania v Victoria | Ninja Stadium
(Bye: Queensland)
Round 3
Jan 4: Queensland v ACT | Allan Border Field
Jan 6: Queensland v ACT | Allan Border Field
Jan 8: Western Australia v Victoria | WACA Ground D/N
Jan 10: Western Australia v Victoria | WACA Ground D/N
* Feb 8: Tasmania v South Australia | Ninja Stadium
* Feb 10: Tasmania v South Australia | Ninja Stadium
(Bye: New South Wales)
* Played at this time to accommodate ground availability
Round 4
Jan 9: Tasmania v New South Wales | Ninja Stadium
Jan 11: Tasmania v New South Wales | Ninja Stadium
Jan 19: South Australia v ACT | Karen Rolton Oval D/N
Jan 20: Victoria v Queensland | Junction Oval D/N
Jan 21: South Australia v ACT | Karen Rolton Oval D/N
Jan 22: Victoria v Queensland | Junction Oval D/N
(Bye: Western Australia)
Round 5
Jan 31: Queensland v Tasmania | Allan Border Field
Feb 2: Queensland v Tasmania | Allan Border Field
Feb 3: ACT v Western Australia | EPC Solar Park
Feb 4: New South Wales v Victoria | Cricket Central
Feb 5: ACT v Western Australia | EPC Solar Park
Feb 6: New South Wales v Victoria | Cricket Central
(Bye: South Australia)
Round 6
Feb 21: Queensland v Western Australia | Allan Border Field
Feb 21: New South Wales v South Australia | Cricket Central
Feb 23: Queensland v Western Australia | Allan Border Field
Feb 23: New South Wales v South Australia | Cricket Central
Feb 23: Victoria v ACT | Junction Oval D/N
Feb 25: Victoria v ACT | Junction Oval D/N
(Bye: Tasmania)
Round 7
Mar 10: ACT v Tasmania | EPC Solar Park
Mar 10: South Australia v Queensland | Karen Rolton Oval D/N
Mar 10: Western Australia v New South Wales | WACA Ground D/N
Mar 12: ACT v Tasmania | EPC Solar Park
Mar 12: South Australia v Queensland | Karen Rolton Oval D/N
Mar 12: Western Australia v New South Wales | WACA Ground D/N
(Bye: Victoria)
Final
March 20, 2027 – TBD
T20 Spring Challenge 2026
Oct 12: Sydney Sixers v Brisbane Heat| Hurstville Oval
Oct 12: Hobart Hurricanes v ACT Meteors | Blacktown International Sports Park 2
Oct 12: Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Stars | Hurstville Oval
Oct 12: Melbourne Renegades v Perth Scorchers | Blacktown International Sports Park 2
Oct 13: Sydney Sixers v ACT Meteors | Bankstown Oval
Oct 13: Adelaide Strikers v Perth Scorchers | Bankstown Oval
Oct 13: Sydney Thunder v Brisbane Heat | Bankstown Oval (N)
Oct 14: Melbourne Renegades v Melbourne Stars | Bankstown Oval
Oct 14: Adelaide Strikers v Hobart Hurricanes | Bankstown Oval (N)
Oct 16: Brisbane Heat v ACT Meteors | Raby Oval No.1
Oct 17: Sydney Thunder v Melbourne Renegades | Blacktown International Sports Park 2
Oct 17: Hobart Hurricanes v Perth Scorchers | Blacktown International Sports Park 1
Oct 17: Sydney Sixers v Adelaide Strikers | Blacktown International Sports Park 1
Oct 17: ACT Meteors v Melbourne Stars | Blacktown International Sports Park 2
Oct 18: Melbourne Renegades v Hobart Hurricanes | Blacktown International Sports Park 2
Oct 18: Brisbane Heat v Adelaide Strikers | Blacktown International Sports Park 2
Oct 18: Sydney Thunder v Perth Scorchers | Blacktown International Sports Park 1
Oct 18: Sydney Sixers v Melbourne Stars | Blacktown International Sports Park 1 (N)
Semi-finals
Oct 20: 1 v 4 | Cricket Central
Oct 20: 2 v 3 | Cricket Central
Final
Oct 21: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 | Cricket Central
