ECB announce 10 counties to host Tier 2 women’s sides from 2025

In April, eight counties – Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire – were named as top-tier clubs, whose sides will replace the existing regional teams that compete in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.

It was the first step of a planned revamp of the women’s domestic game that aims to increase investment to £19m per year by 2027.

The ECB want the three-tier structure to “build on the impact of the existing regional model” and to “further grow the depth and reach of the women’s professional game”.

Beth Barrett-Wild, director of the Women’s Professional Game, said the establishment of a “thriving and sustainable women’s domestic pyramid” was a “huge step forward” for cricket.

“It brings the new landscape of women’s professional domestic cricket one step closer,” she said.

“From next summer we will see up to 39 counties competing across the new structure, which will both accommodate the growth and accelerate the depth of the women’s professional game – on and off the field.”