It’s been a BIG year for women’s sport in Australia – a little thing called the FIFA Women’s World Cup attracted pretty much the whole entire country to stadiums and TV screens to see the Matildas smash records and touch hearts. It was the coolest thing to happen for women’s sport in this country since record-breaking crowds (86,000 people) packed out the MCG for the women’s T20 World Cup Final back in 2020 BC (as in, Before Covid) – that was the highest ever attendance for a women’s sporting fixture in Australia, and the second highest attendance worldwide. The event proved to the naysayers that Australia does indeed have a big appetite for women’s cricket, and women’s sport in general.
Now, to cap off the year, there’s another big women’s sporting moment coming to Melbourne – on Saturday, November 25, female cricketers will play on the MCG again for the first time since that historic T20 match. Even better: it's a WBBL city derby that will see the Melbourne Stars take on the Melbourne Renegades.
It’s time to remind the rest of Australia how supportive Victoria is of female athletes, by getting behind an event that will be packed with tense rivalry, entertainment (including multiple performances by Sneaky Sound System, inflatables for the kids, an interactive experience with Bluey, face-painting and giveaways) – and, of course, big hits from the likes of the Australian women’s team’s (just) retired captain, Meg Lanning. She'll be joined on the field by more of the world's best female cricketers including Annabel Sutherland, Hayley Matthews, Georgia Wareham and Harmanpreet Kaur.
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“We’re super pumped for it,” says Lanning, who also captains the Melbourne Stars WBBL team. “It’s very special, there’s so much history – you know, all the special events that have happened at the MCG, it goes so far back.
“To have watched some of my heroes play out here and think, probably, that would never be me, and then to be able to go and do it. There are a few girls on my team who haven’t even stepped foot in the MCG, and I know how super excited they are. And it’s such a cool experience to be able to do that in a Melbourne derby, as well.
“There’s no doubt the cricket will be really exciting – it’s a good rivalry. So hopefully we can get as many people down there as possible. To watch and really create a special atmosphere.” Aye aye, captain.
The game starts at the family friendly time of 6.10pm on Saturday, November 25, at Melbourne Cricket Ground. There'll be pre-match entertainment from 5pm. Tickets start from just $5, so round up the whole gang for an affordable evening out at the ’G – take your kids, your mates, their kids, your neighbours, their mates… Just be there and help break some records.