 | |
| Countries |  Australia |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Cricket Australia |
| Format | Limited overs cricket (50 overs) |
| First edition | 1996–97 |
| Latest edition | 2024–25 |
| Tournament format | Round-robin tournament and final |
| Number of teams | 7 |
| Current champion | Tasmania (3rd title) |
| Most successful | New South Wales Breakers (20 titles) |
| Website | WNCL |
 2024–25 Women's National Cricket League season | |
The Women's National Cricket League (WNCL) is the national domestic 50-over competition for women's cricket in Australia.[1] Featuring seven teams—one from every state, plus the Australian Capital Territory—each season's winner is awarded the Ruth Preddy Cup. New South Wales have historically dominated the competition, appearing in the first 24 title deciders and winning 20 championships. The streak of final appearances was broken in the 2020–21 season when they finished in fourth place.[2] Tasmania are the current champions, having won the past three titles from 2021–22 to 2023–24.
Beginning in 1996–97, the WNCL replaced the Australian Women's Cricket Championships which had taken place in a two-week tournament format since 1930–31.[3] In conjunction with its Twenty20 counterparts—the more recently established Australian Women's Twenty20 Cup and its high-profile successor, the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL)—the league is cited as a bedrock foundation for developing the standard of women's cricket in the country, helping to produce world-class talent as well as attracting top international players.[4][5][6][7][8] In particular, it is considered a crucial platform for Australia's finest young cricketers to further develop their skills and strive for national team selection.[1][9]
The WNCL has experienced a rising level of professionalism since its inception, though the most notable breakthrough occurred in 2017 when the Australian Cricketers' Association negotiated a watershed deal with Cricket Australia to expand the total female payment pool from $7.5 million to $55.2 million.[10][11][12][13]
- ^ a b "WNCL: All You Need To Know". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "New South Wales miss WNCL final for first time history, Queensland cling onto second spot". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
- ^ "Women's Cricket Australia – All and Sundry Statistics". Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Now is the time to invest in women's cricket, not cut back". Australian Cricketers' Association. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Q&A with Chloe Piparo". Australian Cricketers' Association. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Women crave more long-form cricket". The Australian. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "PERRY MAKES WELCOME RETURN TO ELITE CRICKET". RSN927. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ Phillips, Sam (8 February 2019). "Healy, ACA want WNCL to go back to future". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "WNCL fixture unveiled for 2017-18". cricket.com.au. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Australia's women cricketers now playing for love and money". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Australia's female cricketers leap ahead in pay race". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Women big winners in cricket pay deal". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Cricket pay deal lauded as biggest windfall in women's sport". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2020.