T20 Spring Challenge (Australia) 2025/26

The T20 Spring Challenge is a domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Australia, organized by Cricket Australia. It was founded for the 2024–25 season, marking its inaugural year. The competition was established to compensate for the reduction in the number of matches in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), which was shortened from 14 to 10 games per club, ensuring female cricketers maintained a consistent volume of domestic play. It sits as a standalone tournament, functioning as a warm-up precursor to the WBBL, rather than a tier in a promotion/relegation pyramid. There is no promotion or relegation between the T20 Spring Challenge and the WBBL.

The competition features nine teams: the eight WBBL franchises (Adelaide Strikers Women, Brisbane Heat Women, Hobart Hurricanes Women, Melbourne Renegades Women, Melbourne Stars Women, Perth Scorchers Women, Sydney Sixers Women, Sydney Thunder Women) and the ACT Meteors (Australian Capital Territory). The format consists of a shortened league stage where each team plays four matches, followed by a knockout stage comprising two semi-finals and a final. A total of 21 matches are played in the tournament. The league stage is not a full round-robin; instead, teams play a subset of fixtures to fit a condensed 10-day schedule.

The current holder of the T20 Spring Challenge is the Hobart Hurricanes Women, who won the inaugural 2024–25 edition. They defeated the Brisbane Heat Women by 5 wickets in the final held on October 20, 2024, at Cricket Central in Sydney. Lizelle Lee was named Player of the Match for her innings of 63 runs.

A key distinction from the WBBL is player eligibility and purpose. While the WBBL features a mix of international stars and domestic players, the T20 Spring Challenge coincides with the ICC Women's T20 World Cup. Consequently, the majority of Australian contracted international players were unavailable, meaning the Spring Challenge featured primarily domestic players and emerging talent. This provides a platform for players outside the immediate international squad to showcase their skills ahead of the WBBL. The WBBL, by contrast, is the premier professional women's T20 league in Australia, running from late October/November into early the following year, with a longer format and higher profile. The T20 Spring Challenge is played in October, immediately preceding the WBBL.