ECB is going to close many of the tiers of the women’s division soon. Next year, counties like Derbyshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Middlesex, Sussex, Worcestershire, and Yorkshire will join the tier of women. All of these counties will be joining the second tier of a new cricket league in England and Wales.
Most people will be confused about how many overs of matches they will be playing. The good news for them is that the players on this level will have both 50-over and 20-over matches. The details of how the structure is going to be and at which times it will be happening are yet to be announced. Additionally, all National countries interested can participate in the competitions at the third tier starting in 2025.
ECB Promoting Women Division all Over the World
ECB is now taking big steps to promote women’s cricket all over the world and these steps that are being taken by ECB are proof of it. Promoting and caring for the female’s health like men is the basic mission of making such activities happen. Between the 2025 and 2028 seasons, the ECB plans to close all three tiers of the women’s cricket league without promotion or placing them somewhere else.
ECB is now announcing great opportunities for the Women’s division to go for and participate in especially allowing all of the tiers to participate equally in the upcoming knockout tournament. They announced a knockout cup tournament that will include teams from all three tiers. This move aims to allow every country to compete against each other. The cup competition is expected to start in 2025. It will be the exact time when all the three tiers will be structured.
Counties Joining the Leagues
A lot of counties will be joining the competition of 2025 from the women’s division, as we discussed earlier, moving forward, earlier this year, the ECB revealed the initial line-up for Tier 1 of the upcoming competitions starting in 2025, which includes Durham, Essex, Surrey, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, and Warwickshire.
Although all of them are going to join in 2025 some of them won’t be joining this early. Yorkshire is set to join Tier 1 in 2026, pending fulfillment of certain requirements, while Glamorgan will follow in 2027. The ECB also plans to expand Tier 1 to include 12 teams by 2029.
ECB Supporting Women Division through Money and Support
Beth Barrett-Wild is taking care of and looking after the women’s team. Her words are valued and obviously, she is the one who can bring change to women through proper planning. She expressed enthusiasm about finalizing the three tiers. This will certainly give a boost to the entire ecosystem going forward and will provide a bigger pool of players in the future.
She highlighted the progress towards establishing a new framework for women’s professional domestic cricket. “We shouldn’t underestimate how big this step is for women’s cricket and indeed the whole game; a thriving and sustainable women’s domestic pyramid underneath the Hundred and England Women, with more professional female players, increased investment, and enhanced alignment across the men’s and women’s game, is a huge step forward for cricket.”
Starting next summer, up to 39 counties will participate in this new structure, aiming to foster growth and enhance the women’s professional game both in competition and overall development. As part of the initiative, an additional £8 million per year will be allocated to women’s domestic cricket by 2027, bringing the total annual investment in this sector to approximately £19 million.
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