The Adelaide Strikers are an Australian women's Twenty20 cricket team based in Adelaide, South Australia. They compete in the Women's Big Bash League, and won their first championship in WBBL|08.
Contents
History
Formation
One of eight founding WBBL teams, the Adelaide Strikers are aligned with the men's team of the same name. At the official WBBL launch on 10 July 2015, Megan Schutt was unveiled as the team's first-ever player signing. Andrea McCauley was appointed as the Strikers' inaugural coach, while Lauren Ebsary became the team's inaugural captain.
The Strikers played their first match on 12 December at Aurora Stadium against the Hobart Hurricanes, losing by two runs. Their first win came on 20 December at Allan Border Field against the Sydney Thunder, chasing down a target of 149 runs with six wickets in hand and six balls to spare.
Rivalries
In the league's early years, the Strikers and the Perth Scorchers experienced several instances of senior members switching allegiances:
Inaugural Strikers captain Lauren Ebsary joined the Scorchers after just one season.
Former Scorchers captain Suzie Bates moved to the Strikers ahead of WBBL|03 and became the first player to lead two WBBL clubs.
After scoring the most runs for Perth throughout WBBL|01, Charlotte Edwards transferred to Adelaide in her final year of cricket. The following season, Edwards assumed an assistant coaching role for the Strikers.
Ahead of WBBL|06, former Adelaide all-rounder Shelley Nitschke was appointed to the position of head coach for the Scorchers.
Noteworthy matches between the two teams include:
13 January 2018, Traeger Park: In a match reduced to 16 overs per side due to a rain delay, the Scorchers could only muster a first innings score of 9/87. In the run chase, Suzie Bates played a lone hand of 49 not out to help the Strikers win by six wickets with one ball to spare.
9 November 2019, Karen Rolton Oval: An innings of 80 runs from 58 deliveries by Amy Jones helped Perth post a total of 3/173. Despite a slow start to the run chase, Adelaide finished strongly with Bridget Patterson scoring 60 off 32 balls. However, Heather Graham conceded just a single off the final ball to give the Scorchers a two-run win.
7 December 2019, Allan Border Field: In the WBBL|05 semi-finals, the Strikers comfortably reached the required total of 127 with eight wickets in hand and eleven balls remaining to eliminate the Scorchers from the tournament.
Noteworthy matches between the Strikers and the Brisbane Heat include:
Captaincy records
There have been five captains in the Strikers' history, including matches featuring an acting captain.
Source:
Current squad
The squad of the Adelaide Strikers for the 2026 Women's Big Bash League season as of 12 September 2026.
Players with international caps are listed in bold.
Players
Australian representatives
The following is a list of cricketers who have played for the Strikers after making their debut in the national women's team (the period they spent as both a Strikers squad member and an Australian-capped player is in brackets):
Honours
Champions: 2 – WBBL|08, WBBL|09
Runners-up: 2 – WBBL|05, WBBL|07
Minor Premiers: 1 – WBBL|09
Finals Appearances: 1 – WBBL|03, WBBL|05, WBBL|07, WBBL|08, WBBL|09
Wooden Spoons: 1 – WBBL|02
Statistics and Awards
Team Stats
Win–loss record:
Highest score in an innings: 5/189 (20 overs) vs Hobart Hurricanes, 8 January 2019
Highest successful chase: 4/169 (20 overs) vs Perth Scorchers, 5 November 2023
Lowest successful defence: 7/107 (20 overs) vs Perth Scorchers, 14 January 2018
Largest victory:
By runs: 148 runs vs Melbourne Stars, 21 October 2023
By wickets: 9 wickets vs Melbourne Renegades, 25 November 2021
By balls remaining: 58 balls remaining vs Sydney Sixers, 20 November 2021
Longest winning streak: 6 matches
Longest losing streak: 8 matches
Source:
Individual stats
Most runs: Tahlia McGrath – 2,447
Highest score in an innings: Sophie Devine – 103* (48) vs Hobart Hurricanes, 26 December 2016
Highest partnership: Katie Mack and Laura Wolvaardt – 135 vs Melbourne Stars, 21 October 2023
Most wickets: Amanda-Jade Wellington – 165
Best bowling figures in an innings: Megan Schutt – 6/19 (3.3 overs) vs Sydney Thunder, 20 November 2022
Hat-tricks taken: Darcie Brown vs Brisbane Heat, 24 October 2021
Most catches (fielder): Bridget Patterson – 52
Most dismissals (wicket-keeper): Tegan McPharlin – 91 (51 catches, 40 stumpings)
Source:
Individual awards
Player of the Match:
Sophie Devine – 15
Tahlia McGrath – 11
Katie Mack and Laura Wolvaardt - 7
Darcie Brown, Bridget Patterson, and Amanda-Jade Wellington – 5
Sarah Coyte and Megan Schutt – 4
Suzie Bates and Madeline Penna – 3
Deandra Dottin, Lauren Ebsary, Tegan McPharlin, Anesu Mushangwe, Alex Price, Tabatha Saville, Sarah Taylor, and Stafanie Taylor – 1
WBBL Player of the Final:
Deandra Dottin – WBBL|08
Amanda-Jade Wellington – WBBL|09
WBBL Player of the Tournament:
Sophie Devine – WBBL|05
WBBL Team of the Tournament:
Sophie Devine (4) – WBBL|02, WBBL|03, WBBL|04, WBBL|05
Darcie Brown (2) – WBBL|06, WBBL|07
Megan Schutt (2) – WBBL|05, WBBL|08
Amanda-Jade Wellington (2) – WBBL|07, WBBL|08, WBBL|09
Sarah Coyte – WBBL|06
Tahlia McGrath – WBBL|07
Katie Mack – WBBL|09