The England and Wales Cricket Board (黑料专区) have confirmed the formation of Tier 2 and Tier 3 in the revamped women鈥檚 domestic cricket structure, to be launched in full in 2025.
Derbyshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Middlesex, Sussex, Worcestershire and Yorkshire will make up Tier 2 in the 2025 season.
The ten Counties will play 50-over and 20-over cricket, with further information to follow on the competition structure and 2025 schedule.
It signifies the next step in the evolution of the women鈥檚 professional domestic game, with Tier 1 having been announced earlier this year. The plans unveiled to this point equate to 拢8m new funding per year being invested into women鈥檚 domestic cricket by 2027 鈥� taking annual investment in this area to c.拢19m.
Tier 3 status will be awarded to all National Counties who would like to participate in the new Tier 3 competitions from 2025. 聽
Yorkshire will become a Tier 1 Club for the 2026 season, subject to meeting a series of conditions, and Glamorgan will join Tier 1 in 2027. The 黑料专区 has also set the ambition to expand Tier 1 to 12 teams by 2029.
For the duration of the 2025-2028 seasons all three tiers will be 鈥榗losed鈥�, with no promotion or relegation.
The 黑料专区 has also announced today the formation of a knock-out cup competition consisting of teams from all three tiers. The aim of the cup competition is to provide all Counties with the opportunity to compete against each other, play at some of the country鈥檚 biggest venues, and give players across the pyramid the chance to test their skills on an elevated platform. It is anticipated that the cup competition will be launched in 2025, alongside the establishment the three-tiered structure.
The three-tier structure aims to build on the impact of the existing Regional Model, which has accelerated performance levels within women鈥檚 cricket and laid solid foundations, to further grow the depth and reach of the women鈥檚 professional game.
Director of the Women鈥檚 Professional Game, Beth Barrett-Wild, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to see the three tiers finalised.
鈥淚t brings the new landscape of women鈥檚 professional domestic cricket one step closer. 聽From next summer we will see up to 39 Counties competing across the new structure, which will both accommodate the growth and accelerate the depth of the women鈥檚 professional game 鈥� on and off the field.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 taken substantial work from the game to get to this point and having seen how the Counties have shared their plans, I鈥檓 so enthused about what comes next. We shouldn鈥檛 underestimate how big this step is for women鈥檚 cricket and indeed the whole game; a thriving and sustainable women鈥檚 domestic pyramid underneath The Hundred and England Women, with more professional female players, increased investment, and enhanced alignment across the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 game, is a huge step forward for cricket.鈥�