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Minimum starting salaries will be equalled across men’s and women’s professional domestic cricket from 2025, the ECB has confirmed.

The move will apply both at ‘rookie’ level, which is being introduced into the women’s game for the first time and which will typically be a player’s first professional contract, and at ‘senior pro’ level for players who have established themselves in first teams.

It has also been agreed that the eight first-class counties with tier-one status in next year’s revamped domestic women’s structure will have minimum squad sizes of 15 contracted players and that those FCCs are required to invest at least £500,000 on their player salary costs in 2025.

In addition, a salary cap of £800,000 per year has been agreed for FCCs with tier-one status.

The move to equalise starting salaries for male and female players represents the latest action taken as part of the restructuring of the women’s professional game.

It follows the announcement earlier this month that the women’s and men’s professional white-ball competitions will align from next season under the Vitality Blast and Metro Bank One-Day Cup banners. The Kia Oval will host the inaugural Vitality Blast Women’s Finals Day on Sunday July 27, with the first edition of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup Women’s Final taking place at Utilita Bowl on Sunday September 21.

The starting salaries and salary budget details have been approved by the ECB’s Professional Game Committee (PGC), which features representatives from FCCs, the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) and the ECB.

Beth Barrett-Wild, director of Women’s Professional Game, said: “Equalising starting salaries across our men’s and women’s professional domestic game is another positive step forward for women’s cricket in England and Wales.

“The changes we’ve made to the structure of women’s domestic cricket across the last nine months have been about producing a sustainable and viable product that’s attractive off the pitch, as well as being quality on it. As part of this, it’s important that our players are remunerated appropriately, and that cricket is seen not just as a viable career option for women, but an enticing one.

“Increasingly, every decision we take is about making cricket as attractive a sport for young girls as it is for boys. We know we still have a lot of work to do in this space. But we are moving at pace, and the news today represents another significant building block in the journey to gender equity in the game.”

PCA director of player rights and women’s cricket, Emma Reid, said: “Working with the ECB and the professional game, we are really pleased to see equalised minimum salaries across the men’s and women’s domestic game from 2025.

“This is a big step towards reaching parity and a journey that the PCA is fully committed to achieving, but there is still further work to do. With the women’s teams under the umbrella of the first-class counties, the PCA will continue to lobby for parity across all areas of the professional game.”

The Women’s T20 World Cup runs from October 3-20 in UAE with England’s first game against Bangladesh on October 5; Scotland are in England’s group; Australia are defending champions for tournament where every game is live on Sky Sports; top two teams in each pool make semi-finals

England Women T20 World Cup fixtures

• Saturday 5 October: Bangladesh v England (Sharjah)
• Monday 7 October: England v South Africa (Sharjah)
• Sunday 13 October: England v Scotland (Sharjah)
• Tuesday 15 October: England v West Indies (Dubai)
• Thursday 17 October: Semi-final 1 (Dubai)
• Friday 18 October: Semi-final 2 (Sharjah)
• Sunday 20 October: Final (Dubai)

Women’s T20 World Cup groups

• Group A: Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
• Group B: South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Scotland

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.