Australian Women’s Cricketers : Under a new multimillion-dollar action plan aimed at promoting growth in women’s and girls’ cricket, Australian cricketers participating in domestic competitions will earn an average salary of $160,000.
Cricket Australia’s 10-year plan includes a revamp of the women’s Big Bash competition, which will transition to a 40-game regular season, aligning it with the BBL. Additionally, a new domestic women’s Twenty20 competition will be introduced to “create more high-performance opportunities for domestic players.”
The governing body aims to boost the total revenue of women’s cricket by $100 million to ensure the sport remains “at the forefront of the women’s sports revolution.”
In addition to raising player payments, the peak body has committed to a $500 million investment in “female-friendly” infrastructure. The goals include boosting grassroots participation among girls to 100,000 and increasing the average annual attendance for all women’s cricket to 600,000.
WBBL contracts saw a significant increase in value last season under a new pay deal, with top-tier players earning over $100,000 for the 2023 tournament as the salary cap doubled.
The salary cap will remain in place for the WBBL, even though the number of games has been reduced.
Cricket Australia stated, “The new T20 competition will raise the average salary for female domestic players for 2024-25—encompassing WBBL contracts, state/territory contracts, and domestic match payments—to $163,322, reflecting an increase of $12,303 (8 percent) from 2023-24. Additionally, the current WBBL salary cap will be maintained, ensuring no reduction in player payments.”
This year, Cricket Australia reported a median total remuneration gender pay gap of -0.4 percent, indicating that the midpoint for men’s pay was lower than that for women’s pay across the organization.
The action plan will also prioritize filling stadiums and increasing attendance for international competitions.
Australian cricket champion Ellyse Perry highlighted the significance of commercial growth for the sport.