Equal Starting Salaries for Men and Women in Domestic Cricket from 2025

In a landmark move for gender equality in cricket, men and women cricketers in England will receive equal starting salaries in domestic cricket from 2025. This comes as part of a sweeping reform by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) aimed at elevating the women’s game, which includes a significant restructuring of the domestic setup and increased financial support.

The revamped structure will see eight first-class counties hosting Tier 1 women’s teams, with this number rising to nine in 2026 and 10 in 2027. These counties include Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey, and Warwickshire, with Yorkshire joining the group in 2026 and Glamorgan in 2027.

As part of the reform, rookie players—typically those signing their first professional contracts—will start on a minimum salary of £20,000, regardless of gender. The salaries will increase to £28,000 for senior professionals, those who have made a certain number of first-team appearances. This is a significant step forward for women’s cricket, where rookie contracts have not previously existed, and pay disparities have been a long-standing issue.

The ECB’s new three-tiered county structure will replace the current regional model for women’s cricket, aligning it more closely with the men’s domestic competitions, such as the T20 Blast and the One-Day Cup. The reforms form part of the ECB’s broader investment strategy, which aims to channel £19 million annually into the women’s game by 2027.

A key part of this investment will ensure that each of the Tier 1 counties must have at least 15 contracted players, with the counties required to spend a minimum of £500,000 on player salaries. The spending cap will be set at £800,000. While this remains far behind the financial scale of the men’s game—where minimum spending on salaries is approximately £1.5 million, with a cap of £3 million—it marks a significant leap for the women’s game.

The push for equal pay has gained momentum following the findings of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC), which published a damning report last summer. The report found widespread discrimination in English cricket, including sexism, and highlighted the vast pay gap between men and women. At the time of the report, England's women earned just 25% of their male counterparts' fees in white-ball cricket and 15% for Test matches.

In response, the ECB equalized match fees for men and women in August 2023. However, the Board has not yet committed to all of the ICEC's recommendations, such as equal average salaries at the international level by 2030 and equal pay in The Hundred by 2025. Still, these new domestic reforms represent a significant step in narrowing the gender pay gap and raising the profile of women’s cricket.

Looking ahead, third-party investment in The Hundred teams is expected to drive further growth in player salaries. With the ECB's reforms and a clear commitment to improving conditions for women cricketers, the sport is on the cusp of transformative change that will benefit players and the broader cricketing landscape.