, the total number of women's professional cricketers will be almost 100. Before the domestic contracts two years ago, there were fewer than 20. It is also possible that the regions themselves could hand out further contracts, beyond the 80 paid for by the ECB, but that is unclear at this stage. Players will have an average salary of £25,000, with the salary pot for each of the eight regional women's teams rising to £250,000. There has also been a rise in salary pots for staff for each team, with particular focus on science and medicine. The investment means that for the first time, the eight regional teams are all able to field fully professional teams concurrently. Clare Connor, the ECB's interim chief executive, said: 'The significant increase in funding we are announcing today will not only continue to drive the performance standards of our domestic players across England and Wales, giving the women's game more strength in depth, but critically we are creating a more equitable future for women and girls in our sport. Young girls have a clearer pathway in cricket than ever before, and the belief that they too can aspire to be professional cricketers.' This is all in addition to the money available in the Hundred. In that competition, women's players earn around a quarter of their male counterparts, with the top salary band worth £31,250 in 2023. The regional competitions (the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup) and the introduction of the Hundred have seen a sharp rise in interest in women's cricket, which is set to continue next year. There is a T20 World Cup in South Africa in F){kind=link}
New funding made available by the ECB is in addition to the money available to players in The Hundred
There will be almost 100 fully professional women’s cricketers in England and Wales next year after the ECB announced £3.5m of investment in the regional game.
From February, there will be 80 ECB-funded domestic cricketers, double the number when the contracts were introduced in 2020.
Alongside England central contracts (there are expected to be between 16-18 of these), the total number of women’s professional cricketers will be almost 100. Before the domestic contracts two years ago, there were fewer than 20. It is also possible that the regions themselves could hand out further contracts, beyond the 80 paid for by the ECB, but that is unclear at this stage.
Players will have an average salary of £25,000, with the salary pot for each of the eight regional women’s teams rising to £250,000. There has also been a rise in salary pots for staff for each team, with particular focus on science and medicine.