The newly-streamlined Women’s Big Bash League returns on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, with a number of England players involved and Adelaide Strikers targeting a third straight title.

What is the format?

There will be 43 matches in this year’s competition, down from 59 last term, with the eight sides playing four teams once and three teams twice for a total of 10 group games.

The top four sides will then advance to the knockout stage – the table toppers progress directly to the final on December 1 with the other three teams duking it out to join them.

The teams finishing third and fourth will meet in the Knockout on November 27 with the winners reaching the Challenger – against the side coming second – and the losers eliminated.

The winners of the Challenger will then qualify for the final.

Who are the Women’s Big Bash League teams?

• Adelaide Strikers (champions in 2022/23 and 2023/24)
• Brisbane Heat (champions in 2018/19 and 2019/20)
• Hobart Hurricanes
• Melbourne Renegades
• Melbourne Stars
• Perth Scorchers (champions in 2021/22)
• Sydney Sixers (champions in 2016/17 and 2017/18)
• Sydney Thunder (champions in 2015/16 and 2020/21)

Which England players will be involved?

England captain Heather Knight has been given the all-clear to link up with Sydney Thunder after injuring her calf during her country’s group-stage exit at the Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE.

Knight will be joined at Thunder by spin-bowling all-rounder Georgia Adams, a consistent performer in English domestic who made her international debut against Ireland this summer.

Spinner Sophie Ecclestone will also be in Sydney but at Thunder’s city rivals Sixers, alongside batter Hollie Armitage, while wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones will play for Perth Scorchers.

Over in Melbourne, all-rounder Alice Capsey and spin bowler Linsey Smith will represent Renegades, with opener Lauren Winfield-Hill joining Brisbane Heat for the first two matches.

Explosive batter Danni Wyatt-Hodge was a high-profile pick for Hobart Hurricanes in the draft, with her team-mates including Scotland skipper Kathryn Bryce.

The England players selected for the upcoming all-format tour of South Africa, which begins with the first T20 international on Sunday November 24, will miss the end of the WBBL.

Ireland’s Orla Prendergast (Adelaide Strikers) will also play in the WBBL.

Who else should I look out for?

A number of players who starred in the Women’s T20 World Cup will be in action in Australia, including Player of the Tournament Amelia Kerr, of New Zealand.

The leg-spinning all-rounder – who hoovered up a leading 15 wickets in the UAE, including three in the final as the White Ferns overcame South Africa – is in the Sixers squad.

New Zealand’s World Cup-winning captain Sophie Devine is on the Scorchers roster, while South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt – the leading run-scorer in the T20 World Cup and a player with one of the most elegant cover drives you will ever see – at Strikers.

Wolvaardt and India’s Smriti Mandhana could form a strong opening partnership for the defending champions, while Renegades’ hopes of a first title could be boosted by the arrivals of West Indies duo Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin.

The best Australia players will also be involved, of course, including Tahlia McGrath and Megan Schutt for Strikers, Sophie Molineux for Renegades, Annabel Sutherland for Stars, Beth Mooney for Scorchers, Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner for Sixers and Phoebe Litchfield for Thunder.

Full fixture list

All times UK and Ireland

Sunday, October 27: Adelaide Strikers vs Brisbane Heat (2.40am), Melbourne Renegades vs Sydney Sixers (6.10am), Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Stars (9.30am)

Monday, October 28: Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Thunder (7.10am)

Tuesday, October 29: Sydney Sixers vs Adelaide Strikers (7.10am)

Wednesday, October 30: Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Renegades (8.10am)

Thursday, October 31: Sydney Thunder vs Hobart Hurricanes (8.15am)

Friday, November 1: Adelaide Strikers vs Sydney Thunder (4.45am), Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Stars (8.15am)

Saturday, November 2: Brisbane Heat vs Hobart Hurricanes (12.40am), Melbourne Renegades vs Perth Scorchers (4am), Melbourne Stars vs Hobart Hurricanes (11.10pm)

Sunday, November 3: Melbourne Renegades v Adelaide Strikers (2.40am)

Tuesday, November 5: Perth Scorchers vs Brisbane Heat (9.10am)

Wednesday, November 6: Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Sixers (7.10am)

Thursday, November 7: Sydney Thunder vs Brisbane Heat (6.05am), Perth Scorchers vs Melbourne Renegades (9.35am)

Friday, November 8: Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers (12am)

Saturday, November 9: Melbourne Renegades vs Melbourne Stars (4am), Brisbane Heat vs Adelaide Strikers (8.15am), Hobart Hurricanes vs Perth Scorchers (11.10pm)

Sunday, November 10: Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder (2.40am)

Monday, November 11: Adelaide Strikers vs Melbourne Renegades (7.10am)

Tuesday, November 12: Sydney Thunder vs Perth Scorchers (7.10am)

Wednesday, November 13: Hobart Hurricanes vs Adelaide Strikers (7.10am)

Thursday, November 14: Sydney Sixers vs Brisbane Heat (4.30am)

Friday, November 15: Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Thunder (4.45am), Melbourne Stars vs Melbourne Renegades (8.15am)

Saturday, November 16: Adelaide Strikers vs Hobart Hurricanes (4.30am)

Sunday, November 17: Melbourne Stars vs Brisbane Heat (2.25am), Sydney Thunder vs Sydney Sixers (6.25am)

Tuesday, November 19: Adelaide Strikers vs Perth Scorchers (7.10am)

Wednesday, November 20: Sydney Thunder vs Melbourne Stars (7.10am)

Thursday, November 21: Sydney Sixers v Perth Scorchers (4.45am), Hobart Hurricanes vs Melbourne Renegades (8.15am)

Friday November 22: Brisbane Heat vs Melbourne Stars (9.10am), Melbourne Renegades vs Sydney Thunder (11pm)

Saturday, November 23: Perth Scorchers vs Hobart Hurricanes (9.30am), Melbourne Stars vs Adelaide Strikers (11pm)

Sunday, November 24: Brisbane Heat vs Sydney Sixers (9.05am)

Wednesday, November 27: Knockout (7.10am)

Friday, November 29: Challenger (7.10am)

Sunday, December 1: Final (7.10am)