Think the women's cricket season is over? Think again. October is quietly one of the busiest months of the year for the women's game. In Pakistan, a national T20 tournament is in its final week. In Australia, the WBBL's warm-up competition is reaching its final. And in just a few days, the biggest women's franchise league in the world — WBBL|12 — begins for real.
If you only follow the big international series, you might have missed all of this. So here is your complete guide to what is live right now, what finishes this week, and what starts on 29 October.
Running Now: Pakistan's National Women's T20 Tournament
Pakistan does not have a women's franchise league yet — the PCB is still discussing one. What it does have is the National Women's T20 Tournament, and the 2026-27 edition is running right now in Faisalabad.
The tournament began on Saturday 10 October and ends with the final on Sunday 25 October at Iqbal Stadium. Five teams are taking part: Challengers, Conquerors, Invincibles, Stars and Strikers. Each squad has 15 players, so 75 of Pakistan's best women cricketers are in action.
Follow the action ball by ball here: live cricket matches
The format, in simple words
It is a double league. Every team plays the other four teams twice, which means eight league matches each — 20 league games in total, plus the final. The top two teams on the points table meet in the final.
All league matches are played at two Faisalabad grounds — Bohranwali Ground and Jawad Club Ground — and every game starts at 10:00 AM PKT, with the toss at 9:30 AM. There are built-in rest days (12, 15, 18, 21 and 24 October), so the schedule is busy but not brutal.
The prize money is serious for a domestic event: more than Rs 3 million in total, with Rs 1.5 million for the winners and Rs 1 million for the runners-up.
The captains and the story so far
The five captains are all familiar names from Pakistan's national team:
· Ayesha Zafar leads Challengers
· Muneeba Ali leads Conquerors
· Gull Feroza leads Invincibles, last season's runners-up
· Tuba Hassan leads Stars, the defending champions
· Fatima Sana, Pakistan's national captain, leads Strikers
And it is Fatima Sana's Strikers who have owned the tournament so far. By 20 October, after 14 matches, Strikers had won all six of their games — the only unbeaten team, and already impossible to catch on wins at the top of the table. In other words, one finalist is almost certainly decided. The real fight in the last week is for second place.
The tournament also opened with a bang: on day one, Eyman Fatima of Invincibles scored a century — 100 off 49 balls — a reminder of how quickly Pakistan's young batters are improving.
Why this tournament matters
This is not a side event. The PCB has no senior women's international matches scheduled in October and November, so this tournament is where Pakistan's national players are actually playing cricket right now. Members of Pakistan's 2026 Women's Asia Cup T20I squad are spread across all five teams — Fatima Sana and Eman Naseer with Strikers, Ayesha Zafar with Challengers, Gull Feroza and Eyman Fatima with Invincibles, and Momina Riasat with Stars.
It is also the pathway. Six squad players were away with Pakistan's Under-19 side at the tri-series in the same city, and they filter into these teams as the tournament goes on. When Pakistan's selectors next pick a national squad, the form book they will open is this one.
The fixtures that matter now
Only two league rounds remain:
· Thursday 22 October: Conquerors v Stars (Bohranwali Ground); Invincibles v Challengers (Jawad Club Ground)
· Friday 23 October: Strikers v Conquerors (Jawad Club Ground); Stars v Invincibles (Bohranwali Ground)
· Sunday 25 October: The Final, Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
That Stars v Invincibles game on 23 October could decide who joins Strikers in the final. The final itself will be streamed live in Pakistan on Tapmad and Tamasha — the league matches, however, have no announced stream, so scorecards and match reports are the way to follow them.
Planning to follow the run-in? Check the full list of upcoming cricket matches so you never miss a start time.
Running Now: Australia's T20 Spring Challenge
While Pakistan's tournament finishes, Australia's has already reached its climax. The T20 Spring Challenge is Cricket Australia's women's domestic T20 competition — and its whole purpose is to warm up for the WBBL.
It runs from 12 to 21 October in Sydney. Nine teams take part: the eight WBBL clubs plus the ACT Meteors. Each team plays four league matches, the top four go to the semi-finals on 20 October, and the winners meet in the Grand Final on 21 October at Cricket Central, Sydney (2:00 PM local time).
Watch the final and follow live scores here: live cricket matches
The big story: the champions are out
Here is the twist nobody predicted. Hobart Hurricanes won the first two editions of this tournament, in 2024 and 2025. This year, they won only one of their four league games and finished down in eighth place. The two-time defending champions are out before the semi-finals — which means the 2026 trophy will have a brand-new winner.
The four semi-finalists were Adelaide Strikers (the only unbeaten team in the league stage), Sydney Thunder (who had the best net run rate of the group), Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers. A Sydney derby in the semi-finals, Thunder v Sixers, was the headline act.
Why should you care about a warm-up tournament? Because form here carries straight into WBBL|12, which starts eight days after the final. The players who fire in the Spring Challenge are the ones whose WBBL teams fly out of the blocks.
Watching it is easy, too: every ball of the tournament is streamed live on cricket.com.au, the Cricket Australia Live app and Kayo Sports — including the semi-finals and the Grand Final. For a so-called warm-up event, the production is full-scale, and the cricket has matched it.
WBBL|12: The Warm-Up Is Almost Over
The Women's Big Bash League is the oldest of the big women's franchise leagues — it began in 2015 — and its 12th season is the main event of the Australian summer.
The key numbers: 8 teams, 43 matches, packed into just 38 days. It is a double round-robin (each team plays ten league matches) followed by a three-match finals series. The team that finishes top of the table goes straight to the final — and hosts it.
The defending champions are Hobart Hurricanes, who beat Perth Scorchers in last season's final. After their poor Spring Challenge, all eyes are on whether they can switch on when it matters.
Two rule changes to know
WBBL|12 brings in "designated batters" for the first time. A team can nominate a player who bats but does not have to field or bowl — a bit like the old X-Factor player idea from 2020-21. Expect teams to use it for a pure power-hitter or a batter carrying a small injury.
The over-rate rules have also been tightened: teams that fall behind the over-rate timer will face full powerplay fielding restrictions as a penalty. Slow over-rates just became much more expensive.
The Real Start: 29 October at Junction Oval
Here is the date to circle: Thursday 29 October 2026. WBBL|12 opens with a double-header at Junction Oval in Melbourne — a ground that now has permanent floodlights, so this will be the first WBBL match under those new lights.
· Game 1: Melbourne Renegades v Sydney Thunder
· Game 2: Melbourne Stars v Hobart Hurricanes — the defending champions tested on night one
Then the finals run:
· Knockout (3rd v 4th): Tuesday 1 December
· Challenger (2nd v Knockout winner): Thursday 3 December
· The Final: Saturday 5 December, hosted by the table-toppers
Bookmark the season here: upcoming cricket matches
Players to watch
Start with the captains, because this league is stacked with leadership talent:
· Tahlia McGrath (Adelaide Strikers) — one of the cleanest strikers in the world game
· Georgia Redmayne (Brisbane Heat) — captain and wicketkeeper, a steady hand at the top
· Sophie Molineux (Melbourne Renegades) — left-arm spin and smart captaincy, opening the season at home
· Meg Lanning (Melbourne Stars) — arguably the greatest captain women's cricket has seen; her opening-night clash with Hobart is the game of round one
· Sophie Devine (Perth Scorchers) — last season's beaten finalist, and still one of the most destructive all-rounders around
· Ashleigh Gardner (Sydney Sixers) — game-changer with bat and ball, leading the Sixers after their strong Spring Challenge
· Phoebe Litchfield (Sydney Thunder) — one of the brightest young captains in the game, fresh from a strong warm-up run
Add the Spring Challenge form line — Adelaide Strikers unbeaten, Sydney Thunder's net run rate through the roof — and you have the ingredients for a very open season.
The season does not stop there
WBBL|12 also sits inside a bigger global pattern. The major women's leagues now have their own dedicated windows: the WBBL owns October to December, India's WPL is scheduled in January, and England's Hundred takes July and August. For the first time in the women's game, the calendar is being built around the leagues — not squeezed in between other events. October is step one of that new world order.
FAQs
Which women's cricket leagues are live in October 2026?
Two tournaments are running: Pakistan's National Women's T20 Tournament (10–25 October, Faisalabad) and Australia's T20 Spring Challenge (12–21 October, Sydney). WBBL|12 then starts on 29 October.
When does WBBL|12 start and finish?
WBBL|12 starts on Thursday 29 October 2026 with a double-header at Junction Oval, Melbourne, and ends with the final on Saturday 5 December 2026. There are 43 matches across 38 days.
Who are the defending WBBL champions?
Hobart Hurricanes. They won the 2025-26 season (WBBL|11), beating Perth Scorchers in the final.
What is the designated batter rule in WBBL|12?
A team may nominate a player who can bat but is not required to field or bowl. It is new for WBBL|12 and is expected to be used for specialist batters.
Does Pakistan have a women's franchise league?
Not yet. The PCB has a franchise-based women's T20 league under discussion, but nothing has been launched. Pakistan's top women's T20 event right now is the National Women's T20 Tournament.
Where can I watch the Pakistan National Women's T20 final?
The final on 25 October at Iqbal Stadium will be streamed live in Pakistan on Tapmad and Tamasha. League matches have no announced live stream.
The Bottom Line
October is not the off-season for women's cricket — it is the launchpad. Faisalabad crowns a champion on 25 October, Sydney crowns a Spring Challenge winner on 21 October, and then the biggest show of all, WBBL|12, runs from 29 October to 5 December.
Follow every match as it happens on our live cricket matches page, plan your viewing with the upcoming cricket matches page, and read more guides like this on the CricVic blog.