Domestic women cricketers in England will be given retainer payments to ease the financial problems brought upon by COVID-19.
Originally, the ECB will award full-time contracts to 40 domestic players this year to transform women’s cricket. However, COVID-19 happened and caused a delay to that process. Still, ECB’s managing director of women’s cricket Clare Connor said that they still have the intention to award these contracts in 2020.
That being said, the ECB decided to give up to 24 domestic women cricket players some retainer payments as financial support in this difficult situation. This is because of the fact that while no games are being played, the majority of their players have a hard time earning money.
As per Connor, ‘The momentum behind the women's game has been staggering in the last few years and it is still firmly our ambition to build on that. As we emerge from this pandemic, we believe even more strongly that cricket will be a sport that throws its arms around everyone - truly inclusive, diverse and a sport for modern Britain to be proud of’.
She also said that the introduction of these retainer payments may help provide an interim solution to support their players. She also stated how the ECB will continue to support their players in the best ways that they can and that they’ll continue to push with their drive to have a more gender-balanced sports experience.
The ECB is the governing body of cricket in England and Wales which oversees the games of the English national team as well as sports leagues like the T20 Blast. To know more about their popular domestic cricket league, head over to Betwala.
READ MORE: What is the T20 Blast League?
