England Men And Women Cricketers To Receive Equal Pay As ECB Announce Landmark Decision

England have become the latest country to provide equal pay to their cricket teams across genders. The England women’s cricket team will receive equal match fees to their male counterparts, starting from the first T20I against Sri Lanka on Friday (September 1).

The hike in pay was recommended as an immediate step for the ECB to take by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report earlier this year, according to ESPNcricinfo. The players’ salary has also been hiked in the Women’s Hundred and the regional domestic system. As per a report from ICEC, the average England Women’s salary was 20.6% of their male equivalents.

The decision comes in the wake of a stunning summer where the England women’s team received huge adulation and support from the fans. England drew the multi-format Ashes series against England after losing the one-off Test as well as the first T20I. They went on to win the T20I and the ODI series with a scoreline of 2-1.

New attendance records for women’s matches were set consecutively at Edgbaston, the Kia Oval, and Lord’s. The series also saw the first-ever sold-out women’s ODI series. A record-breaking crowd of 110,000 attended the seven-game multi-format Ashes series.

England captain on equal pay decision:

Expressing her delight over the development, England women team’s captain Heather Knight said: “It’s really important that we continue to drive the women’s game forward and it’s fantastic to see equal match fees for England Women and England Men.”

“The direction of travel for the women’s game has always been the most important thing, creating a sustainable product that people want to watch and play, and I’m sure this will make cricket an increasingly attractive sport to girls and young women as we continue to grow the game.

“I would also like to thank the PCA and England Women’s Player Partnership for their support in representing the players and the growth of the professional game,” she added.

England are not the first cricketing country who have announced equal pay across genders. Last week, Cricket South Africa had also announced equal pay for the men’s and women’s players. India and New Zealand have already implemented equal pay for their men and women’s cricketers.