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The WBBL launches its 10th edition on Thursday night without superstar Perry, as the Sydney Sixers take on the Melbourne Stars at North Sydney Oval.
The Sixers were found trailing behind par in last year’s final against the Adelaide Strikes, as well as in two regular season matches.
Under tournament rules, the Leaders face a one-match ban from their next WBBL match for a third pricing offence, leaving Perry on the sidelines on Thursday night.
The AAP was told that the Sixers and free-to-air broadcaster Seven Network had asked to ignore Perry’s penalty given it was a new season, but were refused.
“The competition takes place with a range of playing conditions and rules around it,” Big Bash boss Alastair Dobson told AAP at the season launch on Monday in Melbourne. “Everyone understands what those rules are, and that’s the situation we’re in.”
The Sixers’ latest actions came in a game broadcast on Seven, creating longer gaps in play for commercial breaks. But Dobson said that was factored into the timing of the innings.
“The rules and playing conditions generally take all that into account,” he said. “The match officials take into account that there is a unique element in the WBBL where the simulcast of matches has some elements that are different from those that are not present when the calculations are made.”
Perry remains disappointed to miss the season opener, but refused to criticize the situation.
“It’s a really difficult personal process sometimes to understand where time is gained and lost,” she said. “A big part of that is my management of the group in those high-pressure games.
“That’s something I can definitely learn from. It’s unfortunate to miss the first game, but I was fully aware of the rules and it is what it is.”
