Senior players urge summer scheduling change for women’s cricket
Beth Mooney warns school-night fixtures could deter families, with no women’s internationals or WBBL scheduled during Australian school holidays for at least three years.
Senior Australian women’s cricketers are urging Cricket Australia to seek more home fixtures in the peak summer period, warning that the existing timetable could limit attendance by families and discourage girls from taking up the game.
The home season opens with three ODIs against Bangladesh in Brisbane, followed by three T20 matches against New Zealand in Sydney. Every Sydney fixture is on a school night. Australia’s next home assignment is an ODI series against New Zealand in March.
The current ICC timetable leaves Australian school holidays without women’s international cricket or WBBL matches for at least three years. Players want more December home games around Christmas, although Australia are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka during that period this year.
Veteran wicketkeeper-bat Beth Mooney said evening matches during the school week made it harder for parents to bring children. She also criticised marketing and crowd numbers, saying the national side lacked a regular annual fixture that fans could readily identify.
Mooney suggested staging women’s T20s before a men’s day-night Test or in the evenings during a men’s Test. Ellyse Perry has also raised concerns about the schedule.
Coach Shelley Nitschke expressed disappointment about the absence of December and January home matches. Captain Sophie Molineux said December fixtures could help attract fans, while acknowledging the increasingly crowded cricket calendar.
