8 teams for inaugural Women's Big Bash League

Melbourne: Cricket Australia (CA) on Wednesday confirmed that eight teams will compete in the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), to be launched in the 2015-16 season.

The teams will be aligned with the existing eight teams competing in the KFC T20 Big Bash League (BBL), with the decision endorsed by the CA Board on Friday.

Speaking about the competition, CA CEO James Sutherland said: "We see T20 as the premium format of the women’s game and the WBBL is an exciting concept that will increase the promotion and exposure of women’s cricket.

"We want cricket to be the number one sport for girls and women in Australia and we believe that the WBBL can assist this goal by creating an inspiring visible pathway for the next generation of players, fans and volunteers," he said.

"The format of the competition is still being discussed, with consideration being given to the best way to ensure an evenly balanced and high quality competition that optimises the competitiveness of all teams," said CA in a statement.

The operational component of the competition will be managed by State Associations, as was the case with the previous WT20 competition.