Starting salaries for men’s and women’s cricket equal from 2025: ECB
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England's national cricket team during the T20 International against New Zealand at The Oval in London, on July 13.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Women’s minimum starting salaries in domestic cricket will be the same as men’s from 2025, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Sept 25.
The women’s domestic structure is being overhauled from the 2025 season, with eight counties hosting Tier-1 teams, increasing to nine the following year and 10 in 2027.
The equalisation of salaries will apply at “rookie” level, typically a player’s first professional contract, and at the “senior pro” position, for those who have established themselves in first teams.
The BBC said the minimum salary for a rookie, likely to be a first professional deal, would be £20,000 (S$34,360) rising to £28,000 at senior pro level.
It has also been agreed that each of the eight first-class counties awarded Tier-1 status must invest at least £500,000 on player salary costs.
A salary cap of £800,000 has been confirmed, with minimum squad sizes of 15 contracted players.
“Equalising starting salaries across our men’s and women’s professional domestic game is another positive step forward for women’s cricket in England and Wales,” said Beth Barrett-Wild, the ECB director of the women’s professional game.
“The changes we’ve made to the structure of women’s domestic cricket across the last nine months have been about producing a sustainable and viable product that’s attractive off the pitch, as well as being quality on it.
“As part of this, it’s important that our players are remunerated appropriately, and that cricket is seen not just as a viable career option for women, but an enticing one.”
Emma Reid, the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) director of player rights and women’s cricket, said: “This is a big step towards reaching parity and a journey that the PCA is fully committed to achieving.”
The starting salaries and salary budget have been approved by the ECB’s Professional Game Committee, featuring representatives from the First-Class County, the PCA and the ECB.
In 2023, an Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report said discrimination, including sexism, was “widespread” in English cricket and that women received an “embarrassingly small amount compared to men”.
It said match fees for the England women’s team were a quarter of those paid to the men’s team for white-ball games, while the figure was just 15 per cent for Tests.
The ECB announced in August 2023 that England’s women cricketers would be paid the same match fees as their male counterparts, following similar moves by other nations.
However, the ECB did not agree to all of the report’s recommendations, including on equal pay for men and women.
The ICEC report had called for overall equal average pay at international level by 2030 and equal average pay and prize money in domestic cricket by 2029.
AFP, REUTERS
