CA announces major increase in women players’ payments

SYDNEY: Cricket Australia have announced an increase in payments for all centrally contracted cricketers, with female players the big winners with a boost of almost 66 percent.

CA and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) announced a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Monday, with female players set to share in a AUS$133 million over the five-year period.

The boost in pay — jumping from $80 million in the previous agreement — comes on the back of recent increases made in New Zealand and India towards the end of last year that ultimately saw female players in both of those countries receive a major boost in pay and match payment figures that is in line with their male counterparts.

Earlier this year, Australia Women’s team won a record-breaking sixth ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title in South Africa and Meg Lanning’s side also tasted success in 2022 when they collected the ICC Women’s World Cup trophy for the seventh time with a commanding victory over England in the final in New Zealand.

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley was thrilled he was able to announce the new deal and believes female cricket will continue to grow even further within Australia and around the world.

“We are delighted to have reached an agreement on behalf of Australian Cricket that fairly rewards professional cricketers, while aligning with our strategy to grow and nurture the game at all levels,” Hockley said.

“I am particularly pleased this MOU represents another major step forward in the rise of women’s cricket, with significant increases in remuneration for the inspirational role models of the world champion Australian Women’s team and the WBBL who are driving substantial growth in female participation.

“Cricket now clearly offers the best earning opportunities of any team sport for elite female sportspeople.”

Contracted male cricketers in Australia will receive an increase of 9.5 percent as part of the new deal, with the amount of contracted players rising from 20 to 24.