Superstar Ellyse Perry says women's cricket has taken such a quantum leap, it's not out of the question for the Australian side to fill the country's biggest stadiums during next year's Twenty20 World Cup.
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Perry cut a dejected figure after the Sydney Sixers went down to the Brisbane Heat by three wickets during Saturday's WBBL final however she could still manage a smile as it proved a red letter day for the female game.
A capacity crowd of 5368 jammed into Drummoyne Oval and hundreds more were turned away at the gate - watching the game on a giant screen outside or sitting from a vantage point outside the fence line.
The WBBL has now become an attraction in its own right and made household names of Perry and Sixers teammate Alyssa Healy.
"Hopefully that puts us in really good stead," Perry said.
"I'm obviously disappointed we lost today but it's hard to stand here without a fraction of a smile on my face.
"Just looking at that hill all day, the way it was covered throughout the week, the fact that I'm standing in front of a big group of (media) talking about it shows how we've come.
"We've got some lofty goals for the T20 World Cup next year in terms of filling the SCG and MCG for the semis and the finals.
"Given the success we've had the platform we've built in this competition, I'm really excited about it."
Debate will now rage about Cricket Australia's decision to stage the WBBL final at a suburban ground and why it wasn't afforded a bigger venue.
Likewise, it was scheduled in the awkward timeslot of 10.10am on a Saturday - designed to be a lead-in to the day-night Brisbane Test.
Healy said she hoped that in the future the fixture would be given feature billing in its own right.
"I'm not 100 per cent sure, I can't really comment on it too much. At the end of the day it's great TV viewing for everyone at home rolling straight into the Test," Healy said.
"A prime time night game under under lights at North Sydney Oval would have been pretty schmick. "
Australian Associated Press
