Thursday 18 June 2015 12:50, UK
The first women’s cricket Super League has been unveiled and will be launched by the English Cricket Board next summer.
The competition will feature six teams and will be open to "any cricket-minded organisations", such as the counties. The ECB hopes universities like Loughborough and other institutions like the MCC will also consider submitting a proposal.
Clare Connor, ECB Director of England Women’s Cricket, revealed there will be £3m invested into the league over the next four years, with prize money available for the first time in the domestic structure.
"We are very excited. It's the next stage in the evolution of women’s cricket in this country," Connor told SSN HQ.
"The driver of this is the England team, but the aspiration for the Super League is for girls to play in this competition.
"Competition for places will be strong with the best up against the best, creating opportunities for high potential players, who aspire to play for England, to perform and impress. We also have the chance to invite the world’s finest players into the Women’s Cricket Super League to drive ever higher standards.
"We are looking to normalise cricket in the communities, like the Football Association has done with their Super League."
In structuring the Women’s Cricket Super League, the ECB has revealed there will be a "strong emphasis on ensuring a high quality and evenly balanced competition". As the league is developed, further details on the format and timing of the competition will be unveiled.
During its first season next year, the Super League will be comprised solely of T20 cricket and sit alongside the Royal London Women’s One-Day County Cup and NatWest Women’s County Twenty20 competitions. From 2017 onwards the structure will develop to both T20 and 50-over formats.
England captain Charlotte Edwards added: "It's fantastic we have this opportunity. Having played in Australia and seen their competition we will hopefully rival that.
"Our performances have been good and this is the next step up. It's exciting and the players are fully behind it."
