ECB Names Eight Teams For Inaugural Tier 1 Women’s Championship
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed which county clubs will play in the inaugural Tier 1 women’s domestic cricket league, which will launch as an eight-team format in 2025.
Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire have been named as the eight founding counties, with Yorkshire and Glamorgan teams to join the division by 2027.
The ECB is also aiming for the county championship to expand to 12 teams by 2029, in a move which would see the number of female professional cricketers in England and Wales increase by 80%.
Once the Yorkshire and Glamorgan teams are operational by 2027, the ECB will raise its annual funding by £3m, investing a total of £8m per year into the women’s domestic game by 2027. This takes the overall annual funding in the divisions to around £19m annually.
In January, the national cricket body detailed plans for a revamped, three-tier structure for domestic women’s cricket, inviting all 18 county cricket clubs to bid for women’s teams ahead of a 10th March deadline.
County clubs that were unsuccessful in the bidding process will have the option of being involved in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 competitions.
The ECB predicts the participating teams across all three leagues to be finalised by September, with the new domestic format set to take effect from next year.
Beth Barrett-Wild, Director of the Women’s Professional Game at the ECB, said, “Over the last couple of months it’s been brilliant to see the time and energy that has gone into the submissions, and I’ve been hugely impressed by the quality and ambition of the bids.
“The decision to select two additional counties – Glamorgan and Yorkshire – as the ninth and tenth Tier 1 Clubs by 2027, and our stated aim to move to 12 teams in Tier 1 by 2029, is testament to the strength of the bids and the pace at which we all want to move to effect change.
“It’s clear that the game is united in wanting to take the women’s professional game forward, and in wanting to produce commercially vibrant teams and competitions that excite fans and showcase the quality of our professional players.
“I’m energised about what comes next, for the Counties themselves, for the players, for fans and for everyone who wants to see women’s cricket continue its accelerated trajectory.”
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