Year two of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) comes with an extended season, evening games and prime-time TV slots, Adam Collins writes for ABC's Cricket magazine.

The inaugural season of the WBBL was meant to be just the start.

Expectations were carefully managed; this was the first time women's domestic cricket was to be commercially televised, and administrators were prudent to avoid making promises. Maybe people would watch, maybe they would not.

For season one, that was not the focus.

But then the WBBL exploded. The discussion rapidly evolved from one of 'start paying attention to women's cricket' to a sincere recognition of the giant strides being taken.

"The temptation was to focus on crowds and TV ratings," head of the Big Bash League Anthony Everard said, reflecting on a year ago.

"The key was always about establishing the WBBL to inspire young girls to pick up a cricket bat or ball."

Those unexpected metrics — especially TV ratings — were emphatic and immediate proof of concept. Broadcasting records were smashed, seemingly weekly, comfortably outdoing the A-League's numbers in the process.

Network Ten, the league's broadcast partner, increased the number of games it covered while rescheduling fixtures from One HD to its flagship station.

It all made sense given on the field most of the world's best players were being showcased in a tightly contested tournament, culminating in a madcap MCG final where Sydney Thunder overcame the Sydney Sixers.

"To achieve the TV audiences averaging over 230,000 viewers a game, and some of the crowds, especially with the double-headers ahead of the derbies, was a great foundation," Everard said of a TV audience that peaked at nearly 700,000.

More space and time for women's cricket to shine

"The strategy hasn't changed," he added, believing natural growth should further embed the WBBL in season two.

Twelve games will be broadcast, 10 of which will again feature on Ten's main station; with each club featured at least twice.

For the league's opening weekend, North Sydney Oval will host four fixtures that will be shown on prime televised real estate in the middle of the summer, with no men's cricket to compete against. The centrepiece is the Saturday night where Thunder play the Stars in the first evening WBBL broadcast.

"We have identified a weekend clear of any other cricket where we can really shine the spotlight on WBBL," Everard said.

"When we identified the opportunity, they [broadcasters] were really supportive to get on board. It's not a cheap exercise ... it is a great show of support."

The elegance of last year's draw — eight teams playing each other twice — has been retained, but games have been better spaced out from the first iteration, across 50 days instead of six weeks. This allowed the WBBL to cast a wider net, too — the first regional match will be in Albury on December 13 when the Thunder host the Stars.

The grand final replay will feature on December 28 at Sydney Showground, with the Sydney Smash (January 14) and two Melbourne Derbies (January 1 and 7) all televised double-headers.

More international flavour alongside Aussie stars

Two new innovations this year include players from India, after their authorities agreed to their release from local duties, and live video streaming of all games on the Cricket Australia website.

The Indians will join players from England, South Africa, the West Indies and New Zealand, many of whom also appeared in the opening Women's Super League during the British summer. It amounts to what is effectively a Twenty20 circuit for the most accomplished players.

While formal windows are yet to be carved out of the ICC schedule for domestic competitions, Everard is confident that WBBL clubs will find a way to coexist around international fixtures with sophisticated contracting akin to the BBL.

Southern Star Rene Farrell will once again ply her trade for the Thunder. ( AAP: David Moir )

And it is here — the off-field side of the business — where there has been an obvious up-tick between seasons.

"The most notable shift is a mantra of all eight clubs: 'one club, two teams'. The competitiveness that we see in the men's competition, it's directly replicated in the women's teams; clubs want to win both and that's now translated through to the contracting model and how seriously everyone is taking this," Everard said.

Negotiations have been fierce. Multiple clubs are understood to have approached some overseas players. With a strict salary cap — minimum payments leaping from $3,000 to $7,000, with a maximum set at $15,000 — and additional service agreements tightly monitored by Cricket Australia, it will be intriguing to see how clubs obtain a competitive advantage.

England's recently retired superstar Charlotte Edwards has left Perth in favour of Adelaide, where her in-form countrywoman Tammy Beaumont will join her. The Renegades lost South African Dane van Niekerk in an expected move to one of the Sydney clubs, with cross-town rival Melbourne Stars welcoming back Australian batter Jess Cameron after a year away from the sport. Sydney Thunder have signed India's Harmanpreet Kaur, while international teammate and opener Smriti Mandhana is off to Brisbane, along with the West Indies' huge-hitting Deandra Dottin. Surprise semi-finalists in WBBL01, the Hobart Hurricanes, will again have England captain and all-rounder Heather Knight.

But season one showed that overseas signings and Australian internationals — each club allowed a total of five each — were only part of the puzzle. Squad depth provided by domestic players was just as important. One of those young domestic players, Lauren Cheatle, made such an impression for the triumphant Thunder that by summer's end she found herself with an Australian cap at age 17.

Cricket Australia has announced a record 300,000 women and girls are playing the game and Everard said he expects that will continue to grow.

As for the medium-term, inspiration is simply drawn from what has been achieved in the brother competition.

The final of the Women's Big Bash League will be broadcast on ABC Local Radio and ABC Grandstand on Digital Radio.