Women's cricket received a boost with Cricket Australia's decision to launch an eight-team Women's Big Bash League from the 2015-16 season. The first of its kind, the franchise-based Twenty20 tournament will be aligned with the existing BBL structure to help it "appeal to a broader audience and gain greater exposure", according to CA chief executive James Sutherland.

"We see T20 as the premium format of the women's game and the WBBL is an exciting concept that will increase the promotion and exposure of women's cricket," Sutherland said. "We want cricket to be the number one sport for girls and women in Australia and we believe that the WBBL can assist this goal by creating an inspiring visible pathway for the next generation of players, fans and volunteers.

"Our existing female domestic competitions are arguably the strongest in the world, with the continued success of the top-ranked women's team a testament to that.

"The WBBL will build on this foundation and will create a clear participation pathway for girls and their families, who are already engaged with cricket through the BBL.

The Sixers will have a Women's side in #BBL05 with the announcement today of the launch of the WBBL! pic.twitter.com/ecJHLMA9HP — Sydney Sixers (@SixersBBL) February 19, 2015

The operational component of the tournament will be managed by the state associations as was the case during the Women's T20 competition but the format is yet to be decided.