Maitlan Brown expects WBBL to be played in a bubble

Melbourne Renegades allrounder Maitlan Brown has said she expects teams will have to go into a bio-secure bubble if this season's Women's Big Bash League is to go ahead as originally planned. The 23-year-old, who is part of the Melbourne Renegades squad, added that the COVID-19 pandemic has meant players are uncertain of how exactly the season is going to proceed.

"It's all up in the air at the moment," Brown told Mandurah Mail. "I spoke to our coach the other day but nothing has been decided yet. I expect we'll go into some type of hub situation, but I don't know where that'll be, although I wouldn't think it would be Melbourne."

With the sixth season of the WBBL scheduled to begin on October 17, Brown said there are still plenty of details for Cricket Australia to work out regarding the logistics.

ALSO READ: Full-fledged season, more televised matches - WBBL06 bigger & better than before

Preparing for her fifth season with the Renegades, Brown has seen the team transition from under-performers to title contenders. Over the last couple of seasons, Renegades have twice made it to the final four, only to narrowly miss out both times. Brown has shown steady improvement over this period, finishing as the team's second highest wicket-taker last season with 16 wickets at an average of just over 22 and an economy rate of 7.32.

With the addition of Lizelle Lee to what is a largely settled side, Brown said she is confident of the team putting in another strong performance and challenging for the title.

"Lizelle can hit you over the fence. So it's good to have her on our side," she laughed.

For now, Brown has been training at the indoor facility at Canberra, preparing for the Women's National Cricket League in which she plays for Australian Capital Territory. Having represented Australia A against India A last December, the allrounder admitted she is keen to fulfill her ambition to represent her country. However, her immediate goal is to stack up good numbers in the domestic competitions.