The captains of the WBBL finalists say the women’s competition is ready to step from the shadows of men and run on its own.
The Sydney Sixers meet the Perth Scorchers in Sunday’s final at Adelaide Oval in a fixture starting before midday as a prelude to the men’s BBL finale.
Sixers skipper Ellyse Perry and her Scorchers counterpart Elyse Villani believe their tournament is ripe to become its own stand-alone competition.
“I definitely do,” Villani told reporters on Saturday in Adelaide.
“Heading towards the (women’s) T20 World Cup in 2020, that is a stand-alone competition.
“I think that is a move that I think Cricket Australia (CA) make soon.
“We’re definitely ready for it and looking forward to the challenge of continuing to create our own brand.”
Perry said having the WBBL as a stand-alone tournament was on the agenda of CA hierarchy.
“I know they have got plans to potentially make this competition a stand-alone competition,” Perry told reporters.
“But at the same time, we want to make sure that this is built on really strong foundations; that there’s a wonderful support and following of the game; that people are interested and want to turn up and watch it.
“And I think we have shown that a number of times this year – and the same with the (women’s) Ashes series and the amount of people that came out to that.
“The more we keep growing, the more opportunities we have to showcase the game; the more and more it’s going to turn into its own product.”
Sunday’s final is a rematch of last year’s decider won by the Sixers.
But the Scorchers have downed the Sydneysiders this season in their two minor-round meetings.
“We have got a really good history with Perth now,” Perry said.
“They play an outstanding brand of cricket. They have got some exceptional players in their squad … they’re a great challenge.
“The two sides match up pretty well and we have probably struggled against them this year.
“So it’s a great test to come up against them in the final and have another crack.”
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