ECB Reveals 2015 Women’s Ashes Schedule

The ECB has released the schedule for the 2015 Women’s Ashes Series, with Sky Sports to provide live television coverage of every ball in the seven match multi-format contest for the first time.

The 2015 Series, which will also be broadcast on BBC Radio, will be the third time that the Women’s Ashes have been contested across all three formats of the game – one Test match, three One-Day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals – and following a review of the first two encounters by the ECB and Cricket Australia, the number of points awarded for winning the Test match will be reduced from six to four. 

Two points will still be awarded to each side in the event of a drawn Test, and the ODIs and T20Is will still be worth two points each for a win.

Next summer’s Women’s Ashes Series will get underway on 21st July with the first Royal London ODI at the County Ground in Taunton. The players will then make the short journey across the Somerset-Gloucestershire border for the second Royal London ODI at the Bristol County Ground on 23rd July, before the third and final 50-over match is played at Worcestershire’s New Road on 26th July. 

In addition to six Women’s Ashes points being up for grabs, the three Royal London ODIs will carry additional significance for both teams, as they will comprise England and Australia’s third round of fixtures in the new ICC Women’s Championship.   

ECB’s head of England Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor, said: ‘It has already been a remarkable year of firsts for England women’s cricket – the first crop of 18 players to receive professional contracts, alongside a first standalone commercial sponsorship deal with Kia.  We are now delighted to report that Sky Sports will provide live coverage of every ball of the multi-format Women’s Ashes next year and in so doing, will cover a women’s Test match for the very first time.’

‘The level of broadcast coverage that the England women’s team now gets is exceptional, and I am thrilled that the ECB, in partnership with Sky Sports and BBC Radio, continues to lead the way in this respect within international women’s team sport.  It is this level of exposure and support that will ensure that the women’s game continues to grow, and that will inspire the next generation of England women’s cricketers.’

Bryan Henderson, executive producer of Sky Sports Cricket, added: ‘Sky Sports has supported women’s cricket for over 18 years, and we look forward to taking our coverage to the next level as we show a women’s Test match for the first time.  Our viewers will be able to enjoy every ball and every minute of action as England women compete to retain the Ashes next summer.’

‘We have a strong and successful partnership with the ECB and are proud to have played our small part in the growth of the women’s game over the last two decades.’