Australia’s female domestic cricketers will receive a significant pay increase as part of a new deal between Cricket Australia and the ACA.
The $1.2 million dollar increase in retainers means contracted players in the WNCL will receive a 22 % increase in base salary payments while those with WBBL contracts will see an increase of 14%.
The changes will apply for the 2021-22 domestic season which starts on Thursday with the opening match of WBBL between Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Stars.
Stars and Australia captain Meg Lanning welcomed the announcement.
“The success and prominence of women’s cricket in Australia has not happened by accident. Cricket has shown that when you properly invest in female sport, the results follow and everyone benefits – the game, the fans and the players,” Lanning said.
“Because of the success of the game over the past few years, in which women’s domestic cricket has played a crucial role, the ACA has worked with Cricket Australia to ensure this is reflected in an increase in player payments across both the WNCL and WBBL.”
“This is further supported by a number of additional programs funded by the ACA to support our domestic players as they successfully transition to a more professional environment.”
Additional funding agreed by the ACA and Cricket Australia include $320,000 for players’ wellbeing support programmes and $250,000 allocated to travel for partners and dependents during lengthy periods of time spent away from home.
ACA Chief Executive Todd Greenburg said the overall investment of nearly $4 million would further drive professionalism, particularly at a domestic level.
“Investment in women’s cricket is fundamental to the growth of the game overall, and we see this as part of an ongoing strategy of continuing to raise the bar for others to follow,” said Greenburg.
