The 2018–19 Women's Big Bash League season or WBBL|04 was the fourth season of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL), the semi-professional women's Twenty20 domestic cricket competition in Australia. The tournament ran from 1 December 2018 to 26 January 2019.
Double-defending champions, the Sydney Sixers, ended the regular season on top of the ladder, while captain Ellyse Perry broke the scoring record for a sole WBBL campaign and was named Player of the Tournament.
In the two semi-finals at Drummoyne Oval on 19 January, the Brisbane Heat eliminated the Sydney Thunder before the Sydney Sixers knocked out the Melbourne Renegades. Both matches, notable for their "miracle" endings, were hailed as a showcase of "the irrefutable rise of women's cricket" and "sport with drama, skill and unpredictability – a potent recipe for success".
In the final, also at Drummoyne Oval, the Heat caused an upset by defeating the Sixers with three wickets in hand and four balls remaining to claim their maiden title. Despite suffering from the flu and heat stroke, Beth Mooney managed to play a pivotal innings of 65 runs from 46 balls and was named Player of the Final.
Teams
Each squad featured 15 active players, with an allowance of up to five marquee signings including a maximum of three from overseas. Under a new rule, Australian marquees were defined as players who held a national women's team contract at the time of signing on for their WBBL|04 team. This, combined with the introduction of two-year contracts ahead of the previous season, meant that the Sydney Sixers would inadvertently exceed their marquee player limit in 2018–19. To address this inequity, an injured or unavailable Sixers marquee could only be replaced by a domestic player.
Personnel changes
Local players
The table below lists local player movements made ahead of the season.
Changes made during the season included:
Mikayla Hinkley (who had previously played for the Sydney Thunder and Perth Scorchers) signed with the Hobart Hurricanes as a replacement player.
Overseas players
The table below lists changes to overseas player allocations made ahead of the season.
Changes made during the season included:
New Zealand marquee Hayley Jensen (who had previously played for the Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades) signed with the Perth Scorchers as a replacement player. New Zealand marquee Katey Martin signed with the Melbourne Stars as a replacement player. Martin had performed a similar role with the Melbourne Stars in WBBL|03.
Leadership
Coaching changes made ahead of the season included:
Salliann Briggs was appointed head coach of the Hobart Hurricanes, replacing Julia Price.
Captaincy changes made ahead of the season included:
Sasha Moloney was appointed captain of the Hobart Hurricanes, replacing Corinne Hall. Meg Lanning assumed the captaincy of the Perth Scorchers, replacing Elyse Villani.
Captaincy changes made during the season included:
Erin Osborne stood in as acting captain of the Melbourne Stars for eight games, replacing Kristen Beams who was sidelined with Achilles and finger injuries. Elyse Villani stood in as acting captain of the Perth Scorchers for five games, replacing Meg Lanning who was sidelined with a back injury.
Points table
Win–loss table
Below is a summary of results for each team's fourteen regular season matches, plus finals where applicable, in chronological order. A team's opponent for any given match is listed above the margin of victory/defeat.
Fixtures
All times are local time
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Knockout phase
{ { 4TeamBracket
|RD1-seed1= 2
|RD1-team1= Sydney Thunder
|RD1-score1= 7/136
|RD1-seed2= 3
|RD1-team2= Brisbane Heat
|RD1-score2=7/140
|RD1-seed3= 1|RD1-team3= Sydney Sixers|RD1-score3=4/131
|RD1-seed4= 4
|RD1-team4= Melbourne Renegades
|RD1-score4= 6/131
|RD2-seed1= 3
|RD2-team1= Brisbane Heat
|RD2-seed2= 1
|RD2-team2=Sydney Sixers
|RD2-score1='7/132
|RD2-score2=7/131
}}
Semi-finals
Final
Statistics
Highest totals
Most runs
Most wickets
Awards
Player of the tournament
Player of the Tournament votes are awarded on a 3-2-1 basis by the two standing umpires at the conclusion of every match, meaning a player can receive a maximum of six votes per game.