On Tuesday, September 24, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that from 2025 onward, women’s domestic players in the country will receive equal starting salaries as their male counterparts. This scheme is part of the ECB’s commitment to promoting equality in the sport.
Notably, the equal pay will apply at both the newly introduced ‘Rookie’ level and the ‘Senior Pro’ level for established players. In addition, the eight First Class Counties with Tier 1 status will be required to maintain minimum squad sizes of 15 contracted players for next year. They also have to invest at least £500,000 in player salaries.
For Tier 1 FCCs, a salary cap of £800,000 per year has also been established. ECB’s move is part of its efforts to restructure the women’s professional game. Recently, it was announced that the women’s and men’s white ball competitions will align next season under the Vitality Blast and Metro Bank One Day Cup banners.
The Kia Oval will host the first Vitality Blast Women’s Finals Day on July 27, while the Metro Bank One Day Cup Women’s Final will be hosted by Utilita Bowl on September 21. Additionally, the ECB’s Professional Game Committee (PGC), which includes representatives from FCCs, the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA), and the ECB, has approved the starting salaries.
Speaking of the groundbreaking effort, Beth Barrett-Wild, Director of Women’s Professional Game, said: “Equalising starting salaries across our men’s and women’s professional domestic game is another positive step forward for women’s cricket in England and Wales.
“The changes we’ve made to the structure of women’s domestic cricket across the last nine months have been about producing a sustainable and viable product that’s attractive off the pitch, as well as being quality on it. As part of this, it’s important that our players are remunerated appropriately, and that cricket is seen not just as a viable career option for women, but an enticing one.
“Increasingly, every decision we take is about making cricket as attractive a sport for young girls as it is for boys. We know we still have a lot of work to do in this space. But we are moving at pace, and the news today represents another significant building block in the journey to gender equity in the game.”
PCA Director of Player Rights and Women’s Cricket, Emma Reid, said: “Working with the ECB and the professional game, we are really pleased to see equalised minimum salaries across the men’s and women’s domestic game from 2025.
“This is a big step towards reaching parity and a journey that the PCA is fully committed to achieving, but there is still further work to do. With the women’s teams under the umbrella of the First-Class Counties, the PCA will continue to lobby for parity across all areas of the professional game.”