England women international cricketers will be paid the same amount of match fees as the men international cricketers. This decision has been taken by the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) after seeing the viewership and the attendance figures of the Women's Ashes played this year over June and July.
A report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, which was released two months ago and identified systemic prejudice in the English game, had already suggested the action of closing the pay disparity between male and female players in England.
According to that research, the average pay for England Women players participating in limited-overs matches was 20.6% less than the pay received by players for the men's team.
The drawn Women's Ashes series between England and Australia drew a total of 1,10,000 spectators, including crowds of about 20,000 at some of the limited-overs matches. For the five days of the test at Trent Bridge, almost 23,000 tickets were sold.
5.3 million people watched broadcasts, which was twice as many as in 2019.
The pay increase will take effect immediately, starting with this week's Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka.
“We all want cricket to be the team sport of choice for female athletes," said Richard Gould, chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, "and with the investments we are making and increasingly lucrative opportunities around the world, we are seeing cricketers become some of the highest-earning female athletes in UK team sports. However, we know there is still much further to go as we ultimately strive for equality across the game."
The International Cricket Council said in July that men's and women's teams will receive equal prize money at cricket's biggest international tournaments with immediate effect.
(With PTI inputs)
