ECB call for structural change in women’s cricket, ask counties to ’show their vision’

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has called for a structural change in women’s cricket and has asked the counties to ‘show their vision’ as part of a revamp of the women’s competitions. The governing body is reported to have sent invitations to tender for one of eight women’s professional 'Tier 1 Clubs' to the 18 first-class counties and the MCC. 

This is the second major overhaul of the professional women’s playing structure in England in the last five years. The new structure will move away from the current method, which began in 2020, whereby teams contesting in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fall under central ECB control and largely comprise more than one county.

The objective behind the move is to address the identity crisis that has affected some of the regional teams in the recent past. ECB are working closely to bring the teams with existing counties and their men’s team from the beginning of the 2025 season as it would help them create a stronger identity for the teams and provide a more local flavour to the game. It would also help the ECB to expand its marketing of domestic women’s cricket and will shift ownership, responsibility, and governance to the clubs. 

Speaking about the new development, ECB Director of Women's Professional Game Beth Barrett-Wild stated that the old model focused more on professionalising women’s cricket while the new structure is to bring commercial success. She expects that the new model will bring more visibility and opportunities for women’s cricket in England and Wales.

“The regional model was launched in 2020 with a very clear remit to professionalise women's cricket domestically on the field as quickly as possible and I think it's done a brilliant job at that. We are now up at around 88 professional female cricketers across those eight teams, over 100 coaching support staff, 102 fixtures this year and they've gone up year-on-year,” Beth was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

“I think there is an element at the moment with the way the women's and men's professional games are set up, they are slightly separate, and there is this sense of otherness around women's teams. It will give us a better platform to commercialise the women's game. We're increasingly seeing brands and commercial partners are no longer prepared just to invest in male-only sports properties. Being able to co-present men and women together is crucially important,” she added.