In a bid to push a team from Canberra into the Women's National League, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Cricket has launched a Premier League for clubs around Canberra.
The Premier League will have four teams playing over a seven-week period.
"It's a very important part of our development as we try and move towards admission into the Women's National League," Mark Vergano, the chief executive of ACT Cricket, told ABC News. "It is important for us to have intense competition and to have our best players on the field together as often as possible."
Currently ACT Cricket organise the Lynne O'Meara Premiership Cup stretching from October to March and a Twenty20 competition from December to February, both featuring six clubs.
Bronwyn Calver, the former Australian and ACT fast bowler, said the Premier League would provide a higher standard of competition for the Canberra players.
"I think it's a fantastic initiative to spread the talent amongst four teams instead of having one or two club sides dominate, it should promote a more even competition and certainly strengthen the representative players," she said.