The match costs for England’s female international cricketers will be equal to those for their male counterparts. The ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) made this choice after looking at the viewing and attendance numbers for the Women’s Ashes matches played this year in June and July. Read more details about England WI Cricketers To Receive Equal Match Fees below.
England WI Cricketers To Receive Equal Match Fees
Closing the salary gap between male and female players in England was already recommended in a study by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, which was published two months ago and revealed systemic bias in the English game. The study found that, on average, players for the England Women were paid 20.6% less than those for the men’s squad when they played in limited-overs matches.
A total of 1,10,000 people saw the drawn Women’s Ashes series between England and Australia, with audiences of nearly 20,000 at some of the limited-overs games. Almost 23,000 tickets were sold for the Trent Bridge test’s five days. There were 5.3 million viewers, which is twice as many as in 2019.
The wage hike will be effective right away, starting with the Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka this week. Chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Richard Gould said:
“With record attendance and TV coverage, this summer’s enthralling Women’s Ashes series showed how women’s cricket is still rapidly expanding in our nation. We place a high premium on developing the women’s and girls’ game, and in recent years we have significantly boosted investment in both creating a domestic women’s structure to create the players of the future and in raising player awards.
We all want cricket to be the team sport of choice for female athletes. And with the investments we are making and increasingly lucrative opportunities around the world, we are seeing cricketers become some of the highest-earning female athletes in UK team sports.
Although we eventually aim for equality across the game, we are aware that there is still a long way to go.”
The International Cricket Council said in July, “Men’s and women’s teams will begin receiving equal prize money at the largest international events for cricket.”
Captain Heather Knight On Equal Pay
England Women’s Captain Heather Knight stated: “It is fantastic to see equal match fees for England Women and England Men. We must continue to drive the women’s game forward. As we continue to build the game, I’m certain that this will make cricket an increasingly appealing sport to girls and young women. The direction of travel for the women’s game has always been the most important thing, creating a sustainable product that people want to watch and play.”
In addition, she thanked the PCA (Professional Cricketers’ Association) and the England Women’s Player Partnership for helping to represent the players and further the development of the professional game.
