Cricket Australia seeks more summer matches for women's team
Senior players have raised concerns about school-night fixtures and four consecutive years without home internationals or WBBL during school holidays.
Cricket Australia says it will try to schedule more women's international cricket during summer's peak after officials discussed players' concerns about match timing, crowds and junior participation.
Chief executive Todd Greenberg said head of cricket James Allsopp had led talks with the Australian women's team. Greenberg said the organisation was examining the issue and wanted more matches in summer, while acknowledging the need to consider the global cricket schedule.
Players have criticised inconsistent scheduling and school-night fixtures that they say discourage families from attending. The schedule includes four consecutive years with neither home internationals nor WBBL matches during school holidays. Ellyse Perry and Beth Mooney have expressed concern about the potential impact on junior cricket's growth.
Mooney said poor timing and marketing were contributing to low crowds, and supporters lacked a dependable annual fixture to anticipate. She also said being outside summer's spotlight made it difficult for the players to be relatable. Australia's fixtures include three ODIs against Bangladesh and T20s against New Zealand, with a separate home ODI series against New Zealand scheduled for March.
