Current cricket schedule could hurt women's game, says Perry

Ellyse Perry says the fact that Australia's women will not play international or WBBL cricket during the school holidays could hurt the growth of the game. Australia's only home matches in the middle of summer until the end of 2029 are white-ball ones against Ireland in the first half of December 2028. Perry says it is important to "carve out" a time during the peak of the Australian summer for women's matches. Ellyse Perry has called for Australia's women to be given regular cricket in the peak of summer, fearing the current schedule could stunt the growth of the game. Australia will play nine white-ball matches at home this summer against Bangladesh and New Zealand, with all confined to October and March. The Australian team has not played a game at home during the summer school holidays since January 2025, while the WBBL also now falls entirely during the school term. Part of the issue for officials has been India's WPL moving to the January window, with a common fear it will eventually extend into most of February. Australia's only home matches in the middle of summer in the current program that runs until the end of 2029 are white-ball ones against Ireland in the first half of December 2028. Australian players have long pushed for a regular spot in the summer, in the same way the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and New Year's Test in Sydney are part of the national calendar. "It's the best time of year to play across that school-holiday window," Perry said. "People are at home, everyone's head is in cricket too. There is a lot on the schedule in both the men's and women's game. It's a nice time to go out and watch. "But also for them to be inspired to play themselves and be involved in cricket, it's really important. "I don't know what the perfect window is, but I think somewhere in the peak of the Australian summer is important to carve out. "Where and how you do that is more of a strategic planning opportunity that will take some time to find. But we should be prioritising that for the Australian team." There is a view that being pushed to the outskirts of summer also has the potential to stunt any momentum around the team after their dominant T20 World Cup. The positioning of the WPL means the only real window during the school holidays for Australia would be in the second half of December, perhaps in the lead-up to Christmas. "It's not just for Australia and all the southern-hemisphere countries … to make sure we're encouraging people to come along to matches," Perry said. "It's a really tricky one; the scheduling and planning is a matrix I would never want to look at. "But it would be really nice for us to preserve a window there where people know the Australian women's team is playing so they have the means and opportunity to come watch. "That's really important in terms of continuing to grow the game for young boys and girls. But also we want to play in front of a home crowd with good opposition each year." [Image text:] WBBL MASURI