Women’s Cricket Super League Attracts Interest

10 Aug 2015 | tshego

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The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has received interest from 28 organisations to form teams for the inaugural Women’s Cricket Super League.

The Super League will start in the summer of 2016 with six teams and will receive a £3 million investment from the ECB over the next four years. During its first season the competition will be comprised solely of T20 cricket and from 2017 onwards the structure will develop to both T20 and 50-over formats.

The interested parties, spread across England and Wales, include all 18 First Class counties and a diverse variety of organisations, including partnerships between cricket bodies, educational institutions and local authorities. Internal ECB assessments of responses and interviews of prospective hosts will take place during October and November, with the final confirmation of the hosts for the six Women’s Cricket Super League teams announced in December.

ECB director of England women’s cricket, Clare Connor, said: “The level of interest shown in becoming a Women’s Cricket Super League team host through the initial expression of interest process has been remarkable and reflects a strong, national appetite for a new and dynamic competition.

“Despite levels of participation in sport and exercise being a concern across the UK, participation in women’s and girls’ cricket has seen pleasing growth in recent years. We are really excited about the innovative opportunity that the Women’s Cricket Super League gives us to reach new participants and attract new fans to the game, and we are determined to make the most of this opportunity.”

Jo Kirk, ECB women’s cricket Super League general manager added: “The variety of the organisations involved and the extent of collaborative work outlined within the ‘expressions of interest’ received is really exciting. We are now looking forward to seeing how each of the 28 plans develop through the invitation-to-tender window.”

The Women’s Ashes Test of the 2015 Series started at 11am today from Canterbury’s Spitfire Ground in Kent, where Australia won the toss and elected to bat.