Yorkshire, Middlesex, Kent, Glamorgan snubbed as eight counties announced
AS PART OF a considerable restructuring of domestic cricket, the ECB has announced the eight counties that will host professional women’s teams from 2025.
Following a rigorous bidding process, Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire have all been awarded what is being referred to as Tier 1 status, while Glamorgan and Yorkshire will join them as part of an expansion in 2027 with a further two teams expected to be added again in 2029.
The eight chosen counties for 2025 will replace the regional sides currently competing in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and are part of a restructuring that includes the creation of a three-tier domestic women’s competition that should see £8m of new annual funding pumped into the women’s domestic game by 2027. There will be no promotion or relegation between the tiers until 2028.
On the announcement, ECB chief executive officer Richard Gould said: “We’ve seen a huge appetite from firstclass counties to have a women’s professional team, and a real commitment to growing women’s and girls’ cricket in this country. “More professional teams means more women able to make a career out of being a cricketer, more role models to inspire future generations, and more of the country having a women’s professional team to follow nearby.”
One notable takeaway from the announcement is the absence of Yorkshire from the Tier 1 counties.
“Yorkshire County Cricket Club are surprised and disappointed not to be awarded one of the initial Tier 1 women’s teams as part of the first allocations from the ECB,” read a statement from the Yorkshire Cricket Board.
“The news is especially frustrating and upsetting for the players and staff at the Northern Diamonds. They have been trying to deal with it whilst preparing for their first game of the season in two days. Our focus is on supporting them through this difficult period and gaining as much clarity on what the future looks like.
“Yorkshire has the largest active playing base of women and girls in the country, has produced many players that have gone on to represent England in the women’s game, winning the County Championship 16 times and Headingley has been successfully hosting the Northern Diamonds since 2020, so naturally the news has been tough to take.
“Yorkshire has a rich ethnicity mix and as part of our ongoing work to be the most welcoming and inclusive cricket club in the country, we use women’s and girl’s cricket as the cornerstone to creating real, tangible value in those communities that need it the most.
“We believe we hit all of the criteria set out as part of the tender,
