England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the most exciting decision on 30th August, something which is going to benefit the development of Women’s Cricket in the long run.
ECB announced the pay parity for the Men’s and Women’s teams in international cricket. Now, England has joined the likes of New Zealand, India, and South Africa in introducing this deserved equal pay for the players.
One of the main reasons for the ECB to take this decision was the overall development of Women’s cricket in the past few years. The performance of English players in the recently concluded Women’s Ashes was remarkable, which led them to win the ODI and T20I series against World Champions Australia, England lost the one-off test series, which led them to drawing the series at the scoreline of 8-8, which eventually meant that Australia have retained the urn.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
After a record-breaking Women's Ashes series, ECB today announces it is increasing match fees for England Women to bring them in line with England Men’s match fees.
The increase in match fees takes effect immediately. #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/CzbKU1wui7
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) August 30, 2023
The historic Ashes series saw several attendance records for women’s cricket being broken at various stadiums like Edgbaston, The Oval, and The Lord’s. The games at Taunton, Bristol, and Hampshire were also sold out. The series overall saw more than 1 Lakh tickets sold for the games.
The progress Women’s cricket has made in the last few years has been exceptional, also the introduction of various leagues like WBBL, The Hundred, and WPL has made women’s cricket grow more popularity-wise.
English Captain Heather Knight had earlier said that the Ashes series was “the best there’s ever been in the history of the women’s game”.
After the decision of pay parity, she said, “It’s really important that we continue to drive the women’s game forward and it’s fantastic to see equal match fees for England Women and England Men. 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, and I’m sure this will make cricket an increasingly attractive sport to girls and young women as we continue to grow the game.”
She also thanked the Professional Cricketers Association as well as the England Women’s Player Partnership for their support in representing the players and the growth of the professional game.
ECB’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Gould said, “In the years ahead, we will continue to invest ahead of revenues. We are currently considering all the recommendations made by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, but equalizing match fees is one immediate step we are pleased to make now. 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. However, we know there is still much further to go as we ultimately strive for equality across the game.”
The decision of pay parity will be applicable with immediate effect, meaning the players playing in the series against Sri Lanka will be paid the same amount as the Men’s team.
Quotes Credits: ECB