As women's cricket ventures into the spotlight with its inaugural Big Bash League, what will be the impact of the new competition on the women's game? Adam Collins, in an article in the ABC Cricket magazine, says women's cricket is on the brink of something special.

What do you know about women's cricket?

Let's be honest. For even the most avid cricket loyalists, most answers to that question wouldn't go far beyond a select few names or events. Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry, maybe a recollection of Zoe Goss dismissing Brian Lara in a televised charity match back in 1994.

Not knowing much more than that, by the way, is perfectly understandable. There's no avoiding the fact that until very recently women's cricket has received a distinct lack of coverage.

But that's about to change. And now is a really good time to start paying attention.

Following a major investment in expanded professional contracts for national players, this season signals the beginning of a bold new enterprise: the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) - the first of its kind anywhere.

Aligned to the existing BBL franchises, the WBBL will showcase the world's best players.

Australia's Meg Lanning and England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor will oppose each other again during the WBBL. ( Getty Images: Michael Steele )

In addition to home-grown guns, visitors will include England's former international T20 player of the year Sarah Taylor at Adelaide, with her prolific national skipper Charlotte Edwards making Perth home. Accomplished Kiwi all-rounder Amy Satterthwaite will play for Hobart along with West Indian teenage prodigy Hayley Matthews, and South African leggie Dane van Niekerk will be a Melbourne Renegade. The talent pooled together this summer is undeniable.

Simply, the standard promises to be better than any tournament outside of the World Cup.

Crucially - and this really can't be overstated - it will be the first time that a women's domestic competition has been supported by full-scale commercial television broadcasts.

Similarly, a T20 Super League hosted for the first time in England next year will again draw together the world's premier talent. The game is also attracting attention - and money - from an independent IPL-style body known as the Women's International Cricket League. It is noteworthy that the Australian and English cricket boards have refused to endorse the latter competition, but the fact that it is being mooted is evidence of a product poised to surge.

Consider this: it was only 20 years ago that women's cricket was run by an amateur body - as it had been since 1934 - with international fixtures principally financed by charity games. These burgeoning T20 leagues are indicative of the vast ground that has been made up in these two decades and warrants celebration and respect.

Enhanced visibility also brings new levels of scrutiny, welcomed by players who crave the credibility that this lends their craft - they want it dished out just as it is for the men.

The ball-by-ball commentary on English television (our own pay TV provider dragged its heels), coupled with radio commentary carried nationwide by the BBC and ABC, served to reinforce that this is serious international sport demanding authoritative analysis.

And that is exactly what England received in response to Ashes failure. With comparatively handsome central contracts (deemed 'full-time professionals' compared with Australia's best who identify as 'semi-professional') the criticism was uninhibited, earning a savaging from the local press.

The cold comfort of this critique is that it came as a consequence of more eyes trained on the contest, in no small part because it was televised.

The next trick for the top brass is making sure those new eyes see the unique merits women's cricket has to offer. For all the progress, too often the lazy default position in observing the game remains a dogged focus on what it isn't relative to the men's game (the recent media debate for shorter pitches to speed up the action illustrative of this tendency). What it is should be leading the conversation - a style of cricket that is defined by nuance rather than brute force.

A different game altogether

It's not a lesser version of the game; it's a different game altogether

Lower-scoring duels are the norm and there are many more contests where bat and ball are far more evenly matched; a welcome contrast to the men.

Australia's Jess Jonassen strong batting during the Ashes helped Australia to victory over England.

The reduction in power hitting is compensated by the shrewd skills required to instead work the ball more effectively through the gaps on the ground rather than those in the air. Remember when classic swing bowling was just as important as blistering pace? That's what you get from your prototype new-ball practitioner.

Indeed, it was these distinctions that were the story of the Southern Stars' Ashes triumph - their first since the new multi-format points system was introduced in 2013, and also their first win on English soil since 2001.

An early series lead was built by the masterful strokeplay of Lanning and Perry, but the critical Test win was delivered on the back of Jess Jonassen's driving-to-die-for combined with some seam bowling strangulation. In the Stars' three-pronged attack,Megan Schutt and Sarah Coyte's guile and consistency proved every bit as important as the talisman Perry's extra yard.

This pattern was repeated in the T20 rubber that secured the trophy. With a squad that has an average age of just 24, and under the savvy tutelage of skipper Lanning at 23, a golden era awaits.

With women's cricket on the brink of something special, there is much to embrace, but the job is far from done. The limited pool of money available for a limited number of players runs the risk of widening the gap between the game's haves and have-nots. If this is the case, it's better to look at the WBBL as the start of a new chapter rather than an end in itself.

This summer announces the creation of a new cycle of life. Expanded exposure garners greater investment that invariably leads to higher rates of participation and, ultimately, the ability to secure a bigger footprint in the crowded sporting landscape. Familiarity creates personality, and then idolatry - formerly bare bedroom walls adorned with posters of superstars, inspiring a thirst for the game that lasts for a lifetime.

For women's cricket, the question has fundamentally changed. No longer is it 'how?' But now, 'how far?'.

Here's our chance to find out.

The ABC Cricket magazine is a comprehensive guide to Australia's summer of cricket and can be purchased at the ABC Shop and newsagents.