ECB Unveils New Women’s Cricket Super League

17 Jun 2015 | sigadmin

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The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced that the first Women’s Cricket Super League will be launched next summer.

According to the sport’s national governing body, it is hoped the development of the competition will support greater participation at grassroots level, encourage higher levels of elite performance and create new commercial partnerships.

The competition will feature six teams and will receive a £3 million investment from the ECB over the next four years, following unanimous approval from the ECB Board.

This investment will help each team to provide coaching, facilities, training environments and community engagement plans. It will also be used to promote the competition and provide prize money for the first time in the domestic women’s cricket in England.

During its first season, the Women’s Cricket Super League will be comprised solely of T20 cricket and sit alongside the Royal London Women’s One-Day County Cup and NatWest Women’s County Twenty20 competitions. From 2017 onwards the structure will develop to both T20 and 50-over formats.

Confirming the initiative, Tom Harrison, chief executive of the ECB, said: “Today marks a major step for the women’s game in England. We are already very proud of the achievements of the England women’s team and the growth of the game for women and girls over the past decade.

“We now have the opportunity to build on this, inspiring more women and girls to take part and offering players a domestic structure that gives the best cricketers the chance to play against each other in the most competitive environment.

“The new Women’s Cricket Super League will take standards to a new level and show more women and girls the opportunities that cricket can give.”

Clare Connor, ECB director of England women’s cricket, added: “The Women’s Cricket Super League is the next stage in the evolution of women’s cricket in this country.

“Last year brought the introduction of central contracts for 18 England women’s players and a significant commercial deal with Kia Motors. Now, through the Women’s Cricket Super League, we will create high-performance training and competition environments, which will constantly challenge our very best players and drive the sustained success of our England team.

“We will soon be seeking potential hosts and a big part of that process will be their drive to grow the game in communities, working with County Boards, the existing cricket network, and creating fresh partnerships. As such we see the Women’s Cricket Super League as a catalyst to drive female participation.”

Potential teams are now required to express interest to the ECB in a process that will start formally this month, with successful candidates confirmed by the end of the year.