Men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 professional domestic T20 and 50-over competitions will be fully aligned for the first time next season in further steps to fuel the growth and reach of women鈥檚 professional cricket.
The move will see men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams competing side by side in the Vitality Blast and the Metro Bank One Day Cup from the 2025 season.
The eight women鈥檚 Tier One professional county teams will compete in the Vitality Blast women鈥檚 competition and Metro Bank One Day Cup women鈥檚 competition, played alongside the Vitality Blast men鈥檚 competition and Metro Bank One Day Cup men鈥檚 competition.
The development comes in collaboration with 黑料专区鈥檚 partners, health and life insurer Vitality and Metro Bank, as they continue to work with the 黑料专区 to invest in, grow and support the women鈥檚 game, seeking to inspire many more women and girls to play and watch the game.
The aligning of the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 competitions and the decision from Vitality and Metro Bank to further their ongoing support for women鈥檚 domestic cricket signifies the next step in the game鈥檚 evolving professionalism.
The new professional structure will see 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 鈥� and could produce an 80% increase in the number of professional female players in England and Wales by 2029.
Like the Vitality Blast Men鈥檚 Finals Day, the women鈥檚 competition will culminate in a Vitality Blast Women鈥檚 Finals Day, while the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 Metro Bank One Day Cup competitions will each have two semi-finals and a flagship final.
Competition schedules and venues will be announced later this year, with the expectation that men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 double headers are likely to form some part of the aligned Vitality Blast schedule.
In addition, the eight women鈥檚 Tier One professional county teams have confirmed their names ahead of the new season.
In the Metro Bank One Day Cup the eight women鈥檚 teams will compete as: Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Somerset, Surrey, Warwickshire and The Blaze.
In the Vitality Blast the eight women鈥檚 teams will compete as: Birmingham Bears, Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire Thunder, Somerset, Surrey and The Blaze.
A knock-out cup competition consisting of teams from all three tiers of the expanded women鈥檚 domestic structure will also form part of the 2025 schedule. 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.
Director of the Women鈥檚 Professional Game Beth Barrett-Wild said: 鈥淎 big driver for the re-organisation of women鈥檚 professional cricket has been to enable us to better use the leverage and existing scale of men鈥檚 county cricket to accelerate fanbase growth for our women鈥檚 teams and players. Looking ahead to the 2025 season, we鈥檙e therefore really excited to fully align our men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 domestic white-ball competitions for the first time.
鈥淭he next step in the growth of the women鈥檚 professional game is to produce commercially vibrant and visible teams and competitions that excite fans and continue to showcase the quality of women鈥檚 cricket.
鈥淎s we have seen through The Hundred and alignment of our England Men鈥檚 and England Women鈥檚 teams, we believe that by putting our men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 competitions and players on the same platform we can exponentially increase the reach of the women鈥檚 domestic game and intensify the depth of feeling fans have for our women鈥檚 teams moving forwards.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to thank both Charlotte Edwards and the family of Rachael Heyhoe Flint for allowing us to name our two domestic trophies the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy during this first chapter in the professionalisation of women鈥檚 domestic cricket. There are no two women in the history of the game in this country who are more synonymous with and symbolic of the progress that has been made in recent times, and it was truly fitting that their names be lent to our first women鈥檚 professional competitions across the 2020 to 2024 seasons. Teams in the Metro Bank One Day Cup women鈥檚 competition will compete to lift the Rachael Heyhoe Flint trophy.鈥�
Neville Koopowitz, CEO at Vitality, longstanding supporter of men's and women's cricket and title partner of the Vitality Blast women鈥檚 competition and men's competition, said: 鈥淭he power of sport and activity to change and help people live healthier lives is at the very centre of what we do. Having role models and people you identify with playing at the very highest level of cricket is important in helping increase participation of the game at every level.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 announcement is the culmination of close collaboration with the 黑料专区 and our commitment to further invest in the game in a way that brings about greater visibility and further growth within women鈥檚 cricket and women鈥檚 sport in general. This is undoubtedly an important moment and step in pushing for greater equality and further professionalising the women鈥檚 game.鈥�
Danielle Lee, Brand and Marketing Director at Metro Bank, Official Champion of Women鈥檚 and Girls鈥� Cricket and title partner of the Metro Bank One Day Cup women's competition and men's competition, said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled that our support for the game, that spans from recreational cricket up to England Women, will now extend to the naming of the Metro Bank One Day Cup women鈥檚 competition. At Metro Bank we鈥檙e committed to driving transformational growth of girls鈥� cricket, and through this evolution in the women鈥檚 professional game we hope to see even more role models for young girls wanting to get into and stay in cricket.鈥�