Women's Premier League 2026 - A Quick Preview

This is the fourth edition of the Women's Premier League, which again will feature just five teams. Last year's winners were the Mumbai Indians, who beat three-times finalists Delhi Capitals in the final. Mumbai have won the title twice and RCB once (2024).
Before this edition there was a mega auction with the aim of shaking up the teams for the next two years, but many teams used their Right to Match to rebuy players, who had not been retained.
The bookmakers, and the experts, make the Mumbai Indians favourites to again lift the trophy, but the betting is tight. 

Here are the likely starting XIs for each team and some thoughts on how they might perform

Delhi Capitals (DC) 
Probable XI - Verma, Wolvaardt, Rodrigues (capt), Kapp, Prasad, Henry, King, T Bhatia (wk), S Rana, Charani, N Sharma
This XI leaves Lizelle Lee on the bench, but after her stellar WBBL she could get the nod ahead of Chinelle Henry in the middle order and also potentially play as wicketkeeper, which would allow DC to bring in another batter/bowler to replace Tanya Bhatia who is a keeper only. 
Jemimah Rodrigues has been handed the captaincy for the first time with Meg Lanning having been snaffled by UPW. She is a smart cricketing cookie, but her team look light in their batting and will rely on their domestic seamers backing up Marizanne Kapp, who looks to be batting too high at 4. 
Prediction - 3rd

Gujarat Giants (GG)
Probable XI - Mooney (wk), Devine, Fulmali (wk), Gardner (capt), Wareham, Ahuja, Soni, Gautam, Kanwar, Sadhu, R Singh.
I cannot help feeling that a lot will depend on the overseas players for GG, especially Beth Mooney with the bat. They also have Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Kim Garth sitting on the bench should they be needed, but their domestic talent looks weak. 
I am not sure that Ash Gardner is a natural leader and they will need her to perform with bat and ball, and I remain unconvinced by Renuka Singh as a T20 bowler, but Georgia Wareham looks to be in the form of her life with bat and ball. They might surprise a few people.
Prediction - 1st

Mumbai Indians (MI)
Probable XI - Kamalini (wk), Matthews, Sciver-Brunt, Harmanpreet Kaur, Kerr, Amanjot Kaur, Khemnar, Sajana, Gupta, Ismail, Ishaque
MI are relying on Matthews, NSB and Kerr to get them runs and bowl probably 10 of the 20 overs. It is a lot to ask and none of them have been in great form recently. 37 year old Shabnim Ismail has been bought back in, despite having a fairly average record in all three previous WPL tournaments. Her bowling was also expensive in the latest WBBL. If she struggles then MI have little back-up.
I am intrigued to see what 17 year old Kamalini can do as Matthews opening partner. Matthews, who has not played a game since a pretty dire Hundred campaign in August, may be more of a liability.
Prediction - 2nd

Royal Challengers Bangaluru (RCB)
Probable XI - Mandhana (capt), Voll, Naik, Harris, Ghosh (wk), de Klerk, Vastrakar, R Yadav, Patil, Reddy, Bell
Lauren Bell has never played a game in the WPL and is potentially a big gamble for RCB.
While Smriti Mandhana looks nailed on to succeed Harmanpreet Kaur as India's next T20 captain she does not seem to handle the pressure of captaincy that well. 
If the explosive top order fire you can see them making a lot of runs, very quickly, but you can also see them imploding and being 10/4 in 3 overs. 
Without Perry and probably without Vastrakar (injured) this is not a very well balanced team and I think they will struggle.
Prediction - 5th

UP Warriorz (UPW)
Probable XI - Lanning (capt), Navgire, Deol, Litchfield, Sharma, Dottin, Giri (wk), Ecclestone, Sobhana, Pandey, Gaud
They finished bottom last year under the guidance of the sacked Jon Lewis, and have had a complete overhaul in the auction, with their hopes firmly pinned to the leadership and batting of Meg Lanning and the seam bowling of the ageing, and out of favour, Shikha Pandey. It looks like a big gamble. Deepti is not a T20 number 5, and Dottin and Navgire are hit and miss with the bat at the best of times. Lanning could end up batting the entire way through every innings and watching her partners disappear at the other end.
Perhaps this is the tournament that Phoebe Litchfield makes a sustained contribution? They will need her. 
Prediction - 4th

As I have reviewed each team I have genuinely placed four of these five teams in the Final and then changed my mind again. The only team I have ruled out of Final contention are RCB.

I am still not at all convinced by my own predictions for where these teams will finish. In such a short tournament I think it will come down to one or two players (almost certainly batters) finding some great form and winning their team key games. MI have the most potential to have one of those key players, but I am not convinced this will be their year. However I still think they will make the Final. Eventually I decided that GG would meet them there. Devine is in the twilight of her career and it seems to have freed her up. I think she might have a big tournament. 
I don't think DC have the batting depth to win enough games and UPW have too many holes in their line-up filled by high strike rate hopefuls (HSRHs). 

The whole thing kicks off on Friday with Mumbai Indians v RCB and will be shown live on Sky Sport. Most games start at 2pm each afternoon here in the UK. 

Martin Davies
07/I/2026

WBBL11 - Into Finals we Go....

So the league stage of this year's WBBL has concluded and we move onto the Finals - not quite sure how you can have more than one, but that is by the by! Here is a quick wrap up of what has happened this week, before a look at the three Finals!

Results this week:-
Scorchers  184/5 beat Renegades 154/9 by 30 runs
Sixers 164/5 beat Stars 148/8 by 16 runs
Thunder 153/7 beat Heat 130/6 by 23 runs
Sixers 130/9 lost to Renegades 134/4 by 6 wickets with 22 balls remaining
Strikers 167/4 No Result v Hurricanes due to a ball being rolled into the pitch
Stars 66/6 (10 overs) lost to Thunder 79/1 by 9 wickets with 17 balls remaining
Heat 164/7 lost to Scorchers 165/3 by 7 wickets with 4 balls remaining
Sixers 173/4 beat Strikers 172/7 by 1 run 

Points of Interest:-

• Sixers could possibly have finished top of the pile if they won all three of their games in the final week of the competition. They dispatched the Stars, but then failed to turn up against the Renegades. Other results meant the last game of the season v Strikers was a straight knockout. Sixers won by 1 run getting a run out off the last ball. I genuinely shed a tear for the Strikers.
• Just on that last game - great 100 from Ellyse Perry, but spare a thought for Bridget Patterson, who hit 65 off 35 balls when Strikers looked to have no hope. They needed 70 off the last 30 balls. They ended up needing 4 off 3 balls, after she deposited Ash Gardner for 4 4 6 off the first three balls of the last over. She then ran a leg bye.....in hindsight perhaps a mistake. Gardner bowled Wello next ball and Eccles was run out going for the tieing second off the last ball to leave Strikers agonisingly short. Cricket can be so cruel.
• Stars had 11 points from 8 games coming into the last week - at the end of it they still had 11 points and clung on to a qualifying spot by their fingernails. Having lost to the Sixers, they then got pasted by the Thunder in a 10 over shoot out, where their batters missed the target and their bowlers fired blanks. Can they reload before the Finals?
• The unluckiest person not to be involved in the Finals has to be Georgia Wareham. She has been inspirational for the Renegades, not only taking the most wickets in the competition, but at the best economy rate. That is an achievement on its own. But she has also scored 277 runs, averaging almost 40 every time she goes to the crease. Renegades need to recruit better overseas players for WBBL12. Having a recognisable name or one good innings are simply not enough.
• And finally - where does this tournament (and recent form) leave the careers of Tahlia McGrath, Alyssa Healy and Megan Schutt? Should they be in the Australia T20 World Cup squad next year? Will Australia be bold enough to try a few new faces in the series against India in the new year? Are Australia as hard as they are made out to be? We will see.....

And so to the Finals games

Scorchers v Stars (The Knockout) - Bookies make the Scorchers favourites, but only just. I just cannot see the Stars winning. Their batters are not firing with the notable exception of the stoic Meg Lanning, and they are three bowlers light. That is not the recipe for winning cricket matches.
Sixers v Scorchers (The Challenger) - So let's assume......Sixers will have home advantage whoever they play, which means the game will be at North Sydney Oval, which means lots of runs. On paper Sixers have the better top 5 batters, but Healy and Kerr have contributed little and Gardner is a bit hit and miss (perhaps the pressure of captaincy weighs heavy?). They will be favourites, but cometh the hour cometh the Mooney or the Devine....
Hurricanes v Scorchers (The Final - finally) - Canes have been the dominant team all competition, but their last game ended when a groundsman rolled a ball into the Adelaide pitch, which means their batters haven't had a knock for nearly two weeks. Can Scorchers catch them cold in Cane's first ever WBBL final? I think they might just do it in a last ball thriller. Well we can hope can't we? 

No more nonsense from me on the WBBL, but I'm sure I'll find something else to share my random thoughts on soon........stay tuned.

Martin Davies
07/XII/2025

WBBL11 - The Final Countdown

We are already into the final week of WBBL11 with the Hurricanes securing their place in the play-offs today with a thumping win over the Stars. 

Results over the weekend were:-
Stars 160/5 beat Renegades 115ao by 45 runs
Scorchers 186/5 lost to Hurricanes 189/3 by 7 wickets with 5 balls remaining
Heat 149/9 lost to Strikers 151/4 by 6 wickets with 2 balls remaining
Thunder 174/6 lost to Sixers 176/4 by 6 wickets with 5 balls remaining
Hurricanes 176/4 beat Stars 98ao by 81 runs

Points of Interest

• Ellyse Perry batted like the Ellyse Perry of old as she took the Sixers to an important win over the Thunder, who are all but out of it
• Stars beat the Renegades to go briefly top of the table, only for Canes to beat Scorchers the same day and go back to the top. Canes then played the Stars and ground them into the Hobart mud. Stars have 11 points and are 99% certain of progressing, but will be without Marizanne Kapp for their last two league games. Should they lose those last two games, then Sixers, Strikers and Scorchers could all go past Stars and into the play-offs - the 1% could happen!
• Canes only have one game left to play - against the Strikers
  
• Sixers, on the other hand have three still to play - Stars, Renegades and Strikers. They could still finish top of the league and go straight through to the final. 

Games to play
Scorchers v Renegades - Both teams have an equal 4/4 record. Scorchers have to be favourites, but they are likely to need runs from either Mooney and/or Devine (no change there then)
Stars v Sixers - Stars are going to struggle without Kapp. They are a bowler light and they have brought in a batter, Maia Bouchier, to replace her. Could this be Sixers first win of three in the last week?
Thunder v Heat - Heat haven't really looked like winning a game, but Thunder haven't been much better. Will either side care? Probably not, which means someone will probably get a hundred!
Renegades v Sixers - Sixers might just have the M word, which means they could breeze past the Renegades for win number two!
Strikers v Hurricanes - Canes regathered their mojo against Stars and will be strong favourites to finish their campaign with their 8th win out of 10 games, which means they will finish top
Stars v Thunder - A must-win game for the Stars, although even if they get through to the Knockout match they are unlikely to go any further in the competition. Think they may crumble.
Scorchers v Heat - Scorchers will kick themselves if they don't win this one which should give them the squeakiest of squeaks of getting to the Knockout game.
Sixers v Strikers - Sixers third chance to win, and a win will almost certainly consign Strikers to the bin, if they are not there already. Think Sixers will be on a roll.....

Martin Davies
01/12/2025

WBBL11 - The penultimate weekend...

This week has seen the Heat's chances of qualifying for the Top 4 finally extinguished, with another loss followed by a first point as the rain in Adelaide not only wrecked their game with the Stars, but  produced a farcical outcome to the Strikers v Thunder game (see below).

The latest results were:-
Heat 169/5 lost to Strikers 170/4 by 6 wickets off the last ball of the match.
Stars 151/6 beat Hurricanes 114ao by 37 runs
Renegades 150ao lost to Scorchers 151/6 with 8 balls remaining
Heat v Sixers - No Result (Abandoned without a ball being bowled)
Strikers 45/2 (5 overs) - No Result - Thunder 43/0 (game called off after 2.5 overs)

Points on Interest:-

• Heat had the chance of putting a win on the board v Strikers, but a simple drop at mid-off in the penultimate over allowed Strikers to win off the last ball. It summed up their season tbh.
• If Lizelle Lee and DWH don't make any runs then Canes lose. They stay top, but a loss to the rampant Stars means Stars are hard on their heels at the top.
• The Renegades quite simply got "Devined". Chasing 151 to win she smashed 46 out of 57 off the first 34 balls of the reply. It meant Beth Mooney could guide the skittish Scorchers middle order to the win
• Rain in Adelaide ruined both games there - Heat v Stars never even started, and Strikers v Thunder ended up being a 5 over thrash in the rain! Strikers meandered to 45/2 and Thunder were on the verge of winning on 43/0 thanks to Phoebe Litchfield's brutal 38* (15 balls), when the umpires made the extraordinary decision to end the game. It had been raining steadily throughout the Thunder's innings, but certainly was no heavier  when the umpires randomly decided they needed a cup of tea in the dry!
  

This weekend's games

Renegades v Stars - It is 2v3, but the Stars are on a bit of a roll so might jump to the top of the table
Hurricanes v Scorchers - Within 4 hours Canes are likely to be back on top. Scorchers limited batting resources could well let them down
Strikers v Heat - Remarkably Strikers could keep themselves in the Play-Off hunt if they can repeat their last ball win over the dejected Heat. They should do, but it might be a false dawn for the Strikers.

Sixers v Thunder - Sixers haven't played for over a week, while the Thunder will be smarting from the Adelaide rain fiasco. Both desperately need the win. I reckon Thunder might just pip it.

Martin Davies
28/XI/2025

WBBL11 - Key Games this week

There were just three games over the weekend, but it looks like this week could see some teams taking big strides towards a top four finish, while others don't. 

The latest results were:-
Scorchers 159/4 beat Strikers 158ao by 1 run with 1 ball remaining
Thunder 64ao lost to Renegades 68/2 by 8 wickets with 53 balls remaining
Stars 171/8 beat Heat 153/9 by 18 runs

Points of Interest:-

• Neither Scorchers nor Strikers really wanted to win their game - having posted a moderate 159 Scorchers looked in trouble with the Strikers 77/1 in the 10th over, but a team hat-trick in a maiden16th over reduced Strikers to 121/7, requiring 39 from 24 balls. They needed 25 from the last 2 overs and then 13 from the last, with the last two batters at the crease - but 1424 off the first four balls meant they needed just 2 off the last two balls to win! But Darcie Brown top-edged a leg stump full toss into the air and keeper Mooney came from behind the stumps to take the catch and win the match.
• As suspected Thunder's revival was short-lived - bowled out for 64 by Renegades, who moved up to second in the table
• Heat had Stars 44/6, but let them and Marizanne Kapp (93* off 51 balls) off the hook, as Stars took 47 off the last three overs to post 171/8. Heat never really looked likely to get near the total as batters got in, only to get out.

This week's games :- 
Strikers v Heat - A bottom of the table clash which doesn't have much to recommend it tbh
Stars v Hurricanes - Canes will be keen to put their loss to the Sixers down as a minor aberration, while the Stars bowling seems to be their strong suit. Should be a tight game with the Canes perhaps consolidating top spot.
Renegades v Scorchers - Renegades lose, win, lose, win.....so will they lose this one? They shouldn't do. Scorchers batting is currently looking fragile
Heat v Sixers - Sixers have to win! Heat don't look like ever winning!
Strikers v Thunder - Strikers have lost their last three and look devoid of oomph, but then Thunder have only won two games and were hammered in their last. Might be a case of who is the least bad!

Can the rain please go away!!

Martin Davies
24/XI/2025

WBBL - Halfway through

We have reached the halfway point in WBBL11. Is it me or has it been rather disappointing and very low key? Cricinfo's coverage of the games, via AAP, suggest they don't really care very much about the tournament. Their match reports almost certainly have some AI generated content in them and are frequently inaccurate. 

The latest results were:-
Strikers 134/7 lost to Hurricanes 136/6  by 4 wickets with 2 balls remaining.
Scorchers  150/7 lost to Thunder 154/1 by 9 wickets with 10 balls remaining.
Renegades 155ao lost to Hurricanes 106/4 (13 over target 106) by 6 wickets with 6 balls remaining.
Stars 219/4 beat Sixers 42ao (10 over target 153) by 111 runs.
Thunder 200/6 beat Heat 159ao by 41 runs.
Sixers 147/9 beat Hurricanes 136ao by 11 runs

Points of Interest:-

• Hurricanes have lost their first game, contriving to go from 129/6 to 136 all out in 10 balls to lose by 11 runs to the Sixers. They remain top of the league on 10 points, ahead of the chasing pack, who all seem incapable of actually chasing anything.
• The chasing pack includes Renegades, Sixers, Stars, Thunder, Scorchers, and Strikers, who are all separated by just 3 points (6 down to 3) - they are all the model of inconsistency!
• Brisbane Heat have now lost all 4 of the games they have played
• Thunder won both their games this week, which some suggest is the start of a resurgence. One of those was against the Heat (without Grace Harris or Jemimah Rodrigues). I still wouldn't back them to make the play-offs
• Brisbane Heat keep trying different opening partnerships - the latest one included shipping in Lauren Winfield-Hill. They still lost. Give Annie O'Neil a go!!
• Meg Lanning, not retained in the WPL, now has the most runs in the competition (no she doesn't - DWH has one more after this morning's game!), having helped herself to 135 of them against the Sixers this week
• It continues to rain in Australia and the girls continue to play through it until their clothing gets so heavy they can't carry on!

This weekend's games are:-
Scorchers v Strikers - Neither team look in a very good place and look likely to miss out on the play-offs along with the Heat. Expect this to be a scrappy affair.
Thunder v Renegades - Renegades have a 3/2 record and are likely to burst the Thunder's newly inflated resurgence balloon.
Heat v Stars - After pummelling the Sixers with the bat and the ball it is difficult to see the Stars slipping up against winless Heat.

Martin Davies
22/XI/2025

WBBL - Already 33% done

The second weekend of the WBBL has been completed with 13 of the 40 league stage games having now been played. 

The latest results were:-
Hurricanes 114/1 (12 of 12 overs) beat Heat 108/9 by 16 runs (DLS target 124)
Sixers 142/9 beat Thunder 118/8 by 24 runs
Strikers 112 ao lost to Scorchers 55/2 (9.1 overs) by 6 runs on DLS after rain prevented any further play.
Stars 141/7  lost to Renegades 145/6 by 4 wickets with 7 balls remaining.

Points of Interest:-

• A plethora of Aussie youngsters are shining in this competition - Lucy Hamilton; Caoimhe (Keeva) Bray; and Ruby Strange have all shown they can more than hold their own at this level
• By contrast the overseas players have generally failed to make much of an impression (with the exception of DWH and Wolvaardt), including the 15 English players. There has been the odd glimmer, but not much to excite England coach Charlotte Edwards.
  
• As well as the injury to Alana King, Alyssa Healy has obviously got major problems with her thumb on her right hand - I'd guess there is a fracture. In addition Amelia Kerr pulled out of her last game in the warm-up with a quad injury.
• Sophie Molineux has returned for the Renegades which strengthens them immensely - good with the bat and the ball
• The Hurricanes remain the only team not to have lost a game and head the table
• The Stars and the Heat are bottom of the table without a win in any of their three starts
• The rain continues to be an issue shortening two of this weekend's games

There are no games tomorrow (Monday), but four of the five games this week are evening games, which means they are at a more watchable 8:10/9:10am here in the UK.
This week's games
Hurricanes v Strikers - Canes must be favourites to keep their 100% record going. Strikers batting seems to be Wolvaardt......and not much else.
Thunder v Scorchers - Difficult to see Thunder getting off the mark v Scorchers, although they are a rather erratic bunch, who don't bat very deep. Two of their games have been won batting second in rain-restricted matches. Might be tight?
Hurricanes v Renegades - Two games in three days for the Canes, with a journey from Tasmania to Sydney in between. Renegades bat deep, even if they don't have players making the big scores. Canes will be favourites, but if the Renegades can get Lee and DWH before they get going, they might just pull off the win.
Sixers v Stars - Second game on at the batter-friendly North Sydney Oval on Thursday should see Sixers consolidate their place in the top 4 and Stars continue to prop up the other 7 teams.
Heat v Thunder - Heat have seen nothing big with the bat from Harris, Rodrigues, Henry or de Klerk. It will be Thunder's second game of the week. If they have sneaked past Scorchers they might go 2 from 2.
Hurricanes v Sixers - This is actually the first game on Saturday, but starts late Friday here in the UK. Should be the game of the week. Canes won the previous meeting at a canter after a Lee/DWH big opening partnership. Can they do it again?

Let's hope the weather improves and all the games can be completed.

Martin Davies
16/XI/25