The Melbourne Stars will appoint a new head coach for the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) before to the 2026–2027 campaign. While Cricket Victoria considers a more extensive revamp, the team’s current head coach, Andy Christie, will return to an assistant role.
In the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL), Christie, who replaced Jonathan Batty as the Stars’ coach last year, will continue to guide Victoria as they attempt to get past the demons of a dismal season in which they lost all 12 games.
“With the realignment at Cricket Victoria, the Stars will recruit a head coach to be solely focused on the WBBL, with Andy working closely alongside them to tie the state and WBBL programs together,” the club announced in a statement.
Stars later acknowledged the new structure after the WBBL head coach opening was first posted online.
Christie guided the Stars to the Knockout final in the competition the year before. The Perth Scorchers, who went on to win the championship, defeated Annabel Sutherland’s squad by 28 runs on December 9.
After combining the operations of the Melbourne Stars and Renegades, Cricket Victoria will now oversee only one franchise.
They plan to sell their second licence if BBL privatisation is permitted, which is expected to take some time.
WBBL 2026, the competition’s twelfth season, is slated to begin on October 29 and conclude on December 5. There will be 43 games played over 38 days. A doubleheader at the Junction Oval will kick off the action. The venue will host the first-ever women’s Twenty20 match played under lights.
Prior to the next season, the Hobart Hurricanes will be the defending champions. Elyse Villani and company defeated the Perth Scorchers by eight wickets in the summit match last December 13 at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The Hurricanes chased down a target of 138 runs in just 15 overs.
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