Big Bash League sides Melbourne and Sydney are "rapt their wishes to help run the women's BBL teams that will bear their name and colours from this summer have been heeded by Cricket Australia," according to Jesse Hogan of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. When the city-based Twenty20 competition was announced in February it was "envisaged the state associations would continue running the women's teams, meaning Cricket Victoria would run both the women's Stars and Renegades and Cricket NSW the Sixers and Thunder." But the teams were "adamant they wanted more than a token attachment to the women's teams." Sydney Thunder GM Nick Cummins was part of CA's WBBL working group that has "granted the clubs' wishes to have at the very least a say on matters such as recruitment, operations, commercial and publicity matters, if not complete carriage of them." Cummins "reckoned the creation of the WBBL," which will reach another milestone on Friday in Sydney with the unveiling of teams' marquee players, was "the most exciting development in cricket since the BBL launched." In regards to the contracts that will give players a retainer of between A$3,000 ($2,230) and A$10,000 ($7,440) for the tournament, Cummins said, "Because a lot of the women still work and aren't able to be fully professional they can't have a six-week block where they have a carnival ... at the moment they have to play on weekends and the like because they have jobs. It's not going to be total equality, but it will evolve. As money comes into women's cricket we'll come closer to having fully professional women right through the league." (SMH, 7/9).
