England’s female cricketers are set to receive substantial pay rises of over 30% when the next round of central contracts is issued in October, with some players being offered multiyear deals for the first time.
This historic move follows the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) extending multiyear contracts to some of England’s male stars last year. It will provide a significant boost to Heather Knight’s team ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, which kicks off next week.
The England squad flew to the UAE earlier this week after finalizing the new contracts. The new deals are estimated to be worth between £90,000 and £130,000 annually, depending on seniority and experience, with some contracts spanning two years.
England will face Australia, the current title holders, in a warm-up match on Sunday and start their campaign against Bangladesh in Sharjah on 5 October. They are expected to reach at least the semi-finals, with Australia and India being their main rivals in the tournament moved to Sharjah and Dubai due to civil unrest in Bangladesh.
All 15 players in Knight’s squad are anticipated to receive new contracts. The ECB plans to award around 18 full-time deals, similar to last year, with additional funds allocated to increase player salaries and provide greater job security.
The pay rises are made possible by a new funding agreement between the ECB and the Professional Cricketers’ Association. This international pay deal mirrors the ECB’s primary broadcast contract with Sky Sports, which runs from 2025.
England’s women will continue to receive the same match fee payments as the men’s teams, although the salary increase will be more substantial. The Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report, published last year, criticized the ECB for paying women significantly less than men.
Among 44 recommendations, the ICEC report called for immediate equal match fees and equalized salaries by 2028. The ECB has made strides in addressing the gender pay gap and is expected to update its plans to implement the ICEC’s recommendations next month.
The ECB has also committed an additional £5m per year to women’s domestic cricket from 2025, with much of this funding going to the eight new tier one counties. An extra £1m has been allocated to women’s salaries in the Hundred, raising the top salary for women’s players to £50,000 from £15,000 when the competition launched in 2021.
The ECB declined to comment.
