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by Kadeem Simmonds
Women’s cricket entered a professional era with 18 players awarded central contracts for the first time.
The England and Wales cricket board made the announcement yesterday with England captain Charlotte Edwards one of the 18 included.
It has been an amazing year for the 34-year-old after being named a Wisden Cricketer of the year.
“It’s given me a new lease of life. Potentially I’ll have another three or four years as a pro,” said Edwards.
“It excites me in terms of the fact I can improve but, more importantly, hopefully we can attract more young girls to the game.
“And for those young girls just arrived in the England set-up, they have a huge opportunity to have a career in cricket over the next 10 years.”
In February the ECB board decided to significantly re-invest in the women’s game and all 18 players are now set to benefit from the new and improved financial arrangements.
Former England captain and now Head of England women’s cricket Clare Connor said: “The performances delivered by Charlotte Edwards and her team over the past 12 months, including back-to-back Women’s Ashes triumphs, a historic series win in the West Indies in November and reaching the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 final in Bangladesh unequivocally justify the financial reward which comes with the new England women’s contracts.
“The pay increase for the contracted players is significant and signals the dawning of a fully professional era in every sense for England women’s cricket.”
Sports minister Helen Grant called it “a significant step not just for women’s cricket but for women’s sport.”
Paul Downton managing director of England cricket added: “The England women’s team always prepare to excellent standards, and have been professional cricketers in all but name for a while now.”
The full list of 18 centrally contracted professionals is:
Charlotte Edwards, Tammy Beaumont, Natasha Farrant, Lydia Greenway and Laura Marsh (all Kent); Katherine Brunt, Danielle Hazell and Lauren Winfield (all Yorkshire); Sarah Taylor and Georgia Elwiss (Sussex); Jenny Gunn and Danielle Wyatt (Nottinghamshire); Rebecca Grundy and Amy Jones (Warwickshire); and Kathryn Cross (Lancashire), Heather Knight (Berkshire), Natalie Sciver (Surrey) and Anya Shrubsole (Somerset).
