The 2016âÂÂ17 Women's Big Bash League season or WBBL|02 was the second season of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), the semi-professional women's Twenty20 domestic cricket competition in Australia. The tournament ran from 10 December 2016 to 28 January 2017.
The Sydney Sixers finished the round-robin stage of the tournament in first place and, despite a late-season injury to captain Ellyse Perry, went on to claim their maiden championship. In the final, held at the WACA, Sydney defeated the Perth Scorchers by seven runs in a "veritable classic". Sixers medium-pace bowler Sarah Aley was named Player of the Final, managing figures of 4/23 in the decider and also clinching the title of WBBL|02 leading wicket-taker.
Brisbane Heat wicket-keeper Beth Mooney was named Player of the Tournament, while Melbourne Stars captain Meg Lanning topped the leading run-scorer table for the second-straight season.
Each squad featured 15 active players, with an allowance of up to five marquee signings including a maximum of three from overseas. Australian marquees were defined as players who made at least ten limited-overs appearances for the national team between 1 July 2013 and 1 July 2016.
The table below lists each team's marquee players and other key details for the season.
The table below lists local player movements made ahead of the season.
The table below lists changes to overseas marquee allocations made ahead of the season.
Changes made during the season included:
Captaincy changes made ahead of the season included:
Captaincy changes made during the season included:
Below is a summary of results for each team's fourteen regular season matches, plus finals where applicable, in chronological order. A team's opponent for any given match is listed above the margin of victory/defeat.
Format of the group stage was a double round-robin tournament, with teams playing each other twice. Some matches were played in neutral cities as a result of occasional carnival weekends where as many as all eight teams were scheduled at the same venue. There were 14 double header fixtures with the men's Big Bash League, and the semi-finals and final were also played as a double header.
Player of the Tournament votes are awarded on a 3-2-1 basis by the two standing umpires at the conclusion of every match, meaning a player can receive a maximum of six votes per game.
<small>Source: WBBL|02 Player of the tournament</small>
An honorary XI recognising the standout performers of WBBL|02 was named by bigbash.com.au:
Players under 21 years of age at the start of the season are eligible for the Young Gun Award. Weekly winners are selected over the course of the season by a panel of Cricket Australia officials based on match performance, on-field and off-field attitude, and their demonstration of skill, tenacity and good sportsmanship. Each weekly winner receives a $500 Rebel gift card and the overall winner receives a $5000 cash prize, as well as access to a learning and mentor program.
The nominees for the WBBL|02 Young Gun were:
Sydney Sixers all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner was named the Young Gun of WBBL|02, having scored 414 runs with the bat and claiming ten wickets with the ball throughout the season.
There was greater television coverage than the previous season, with twelve games aired live by Network Ten, including four stand-alone games on the opening weekend. This included the Sydney Thunder vs Melbourne Stars match, which was shown on Network Ten's primary channel during prime timeâÂÂa first for a stand-alone women's sporting match in Australia. The remaining 47 games were streamed live through Cricket Australia's Live app and Website, and the WBBL Facebook page.
Below are the Australian television ratings for the season.