In response to record attendance for the women’s multi-format Ashes series, the ECB has announced a rise in match prices for the women’s side, bringing them in line with the men’s side.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced an increase in match prices for the women’s side, bringing them in line with the men’s side, following the success of the women’s multi-format Ashes series, which drew record crowds to the stadium.
After record-breaking attendance of 110,000 at this summer’s Women’s Ashes series, the ECB has announced that it will increase match prices for England Women to make them comparable to those of England Men.
During their series against Australia, England broke women’s international attendance records at Edgbaston, The Oval, and Lord’s and played before sold-out crowds at Taunton, Bristol, and Hampshire.
Heather Knight, captain of the England women’s cricket team, called this series “the best there has ever been in the history of the women’s game.”
Australia kept the Ashes after an 8-8 series draw. England won the white-ball series 2-1 while Australia won the one-off Test and gained four valuable points.
The new rate will be in place for the next white-ball series against Sri Lanka.
Following increases to domestic compensation pools this year and a more than doubling of salaries for women’s players in The Hundred in 2017, the increased investment is welcome news. The sport provides some of the strongest financial chances among female team sports at the present time, thanks to improved earning potential in events throughout the world.
This summer’s enthralling Women’s Ashes series proved how women’s cricket is continuing to expand at a pace in this country, with record attendance and television viewing,” said Richard Gould, Chief Executive Officer of the ECB. In recent years, we have significantly expanded investment in establishing a domestic women’s structure to generate the players of the future and in raising player rewards, both of which are crucial to our goal of expanding the women’s and girls’ game.
We want to keep investing at a faster rate than our revenue growth over the next few years. While we are still reviewing all of the suggestions given by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, we are glad to make the equalization of match fees a priority right away. As a result of our efforts and the growing financial opportunities available to cricketers around the world, female cricketers in the United Kingdom have quickly risen to the ranks of the highest-paid athletes in their field. But there is still a long way to go as we work towards our ultimate goal of parity in sports for all.
“As we continue to grow women’s cricket, we will continue to focus on making considered investments that stretch far and wide across the women’s cricket structures, delivering a thriving, profitable, and future-proofed game,” he said.
Heather Knight, captain of the England women’s team, said:
It’s great to see match fees for England Women and England Men are the same. This is a huge step forward for the women’s game.
The growth of the women’s game is dependent on “the direction of travel,” which entails “creating a sustainable product that people want to watch and play,” and I have no doubt that this will make cricket more appealing to girls and young women.
Finally, she expressed gratitude to the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) and the England Women’s Player Partnership for helping to promote the professionalization of the sport.
