England captain Heather Knight insists counties feeling upset by their failure to land a new ‘tier one’ women’s team represents “progress” for the female game, while the England and Wales Cricket Board have made it clear a disappointed Yorkshire have not been “punished for past sins”.
The move away from the current regional setup to a fully professionalised top flight from 2025, aligning with first-class counties in the process, is a major step forward for women’s cricket but not everyone has made the initial cut.
Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire were all successful, but eight other proposals were not. Yorkshire have been approved alongside Glamorgan to be elevated in 2027 and a further expansion to 12 teams is planned.
Yet that delay represents the latest setback for a proud cricketing county after several years mired by the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal and financial pressures which saw them reappoint the divisive Colin Graves as chair earlier this year.
However, ECB chief executive Richard Gould made it clear there was no sense of re-litigating those issues in a process that was focused entirely on elevating women’s cricket to fresh heights.
“It’s certainly not (about) being punished for past sins, that’s not our role. Our role is to promote the game, not punish,” he said at the launch of a new national tape ball competition, aimed at further broadening the sport’s appeal.
“It will be disappointing for those venues that either haven’t been selected for tier one at this point or who have been, but perhaps not quite as quickly as they expected.
“There will be individual circumstances but I don’t think anybody should see this as anything other than a positive for the women’s game – we’ve had 16 counties bidding so strongly to host professional women’s cricket.
“We were so relieved by the amount of focus, attention and frankly, love, that was being put into the women’s game in those bids.”
Knight, meanwhile, sees the intensity of the bidding process – and the level of frustration at those who were not approved – as a positive sign given a a relative lack of enthusiasm for female teams earlier in her career.
“It sounds like there’s some counties disappointed which is a shame but also pretty cool,” she said.
“When I was playing a long time ago, a lot of counties weren’t interested. So that disappointment is a sign of the progress that has been made.
“The regional structure has been super successful in professionalising the game and this is the next logical step.
“It has been a problem with regions, mine (Western Storm) has three different counties, and sometimes you feel you don’t have a home or a bit all over the place with facilities, not getting the same equal access as the guys do. Hopefully that will change with this coming in and counties will be accountable. That’s the whole idea: one club, two teams.”
Yorkshire, who have hosted the Northern Diamonds and can now expect their top players to head elsewhere in search of the best – and best-paid – cricket opportunities, had earlier tabled their own statement.
“Yorkshire County Cricket Club are surprised and disappointed not to be awarded one of the initial Tier 1 women’s teams,” it read.
“The news is especially frustrating and upsetting for the players and staff at the Northern Diamonds. Our focus is on supporting them through this difficult period and gaining as much clarity on what the future looks like.”
Simon Phillip, speaking as chair of a Kent side who have hosted the South East Stars in recent seasons, was similarly aggrieved.
“As the most successful county team in the history of Women’s Cricket, offering the only dedicated women’s performance centre at Beckenham and based in a highly diverse south-east London population of 1.2 million people, the decision is difficult to swallow,” he said.
“Whilst this decision will take some getting over, we remain committed to women’s and girls’ cricket and are determined to not let it hamper our long-term ambitions.”
Leicestershire were also vocal about their feelings on missing the boat, claiming “a missed opportunity by the ECB” and saying the club was “crestfallen” not be included.
RCB secures sixth win in a row to eliminate CSK and advance to playoffs
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru held their nerve to secure their sixth win in a row with a 27-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday to book a spot in the Indian Premier League playoffs.
The Super Kings entered Saturday’s game in fourth place on 14 points while RCB were fifth on 12 needing to win by at least 18 runs to overtake their opponents and seal the final playoff spot.
CSK won the toss and decided to put RCB in to bat and that decision looked like the wrong one after openers Virat Kohli and Captain Faf Du Plessis put on a quick 31 off three overs before a quick drop of rain brought a halt to proceedings.
Play eventually started back and the pair brought the score up to 78 in the 10th over before Kohli fell for 47.
The wicket didn’t bring much help to CSK as Du Plessis and Rajat Patidar brought the fire to the Super Kings bowlers to bring the score up to 113 in the 13th before the skipper fell for a top score of 54.
Patidar and new batsman Cameron Green then put on 71 for the forth wicket to further put the Super Kings bowlers to the sword.
In the end, RCB reached 218-5 from their 20 overs. Patidar was eventually dismissed for 41 off 23 balls including two fours and four sixes while Green finished 38* off 17 balls including three fours and three sixes.
CSK, needing at least 200 to advance to the playoffs, fell agonizingly short at 191-7 from their 20 overs.
Rachin Ravindra led the way with 61 while Ravindra Jadeja made 42* against 2-42 from Yash Dayal.
CSK entered the final over, bowled by Dayal, needing 17 to qualify to the playoffs. Captain MS Dhoni smashed the first ball out the ground before he was dismissed off the second ball.
Dayal then held his nerve to concede only one run off the next four balls and seal RCB’s spot in the last four.
Full scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 218-5 off 20 overs (Faf Du Plessis 54, Virat Kohli 47, Rajat Patidar 41, Cameron Green 38*, Shardul Thakur 2-61)
Chennai Super Kings 191-7 off 20 overs (Rachin Ravindra 61, Ravindra Jadeja 42*, Ajinkya Rahane 33, Ms Dhoni 25, Yash Dayal 2-42)
CWI President congratulates Hayley Matthews on ICC Women’s Player of the Month Award
Cricket West Indies (CWI) President, Dr. Kishore Shallow, has extended congratulations to West Indies captain Hayley Matthews for being named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month for April 2024.
Matthews’ exceptional all-round performances against Pakistan earned her this prestigious accolade for the third time, a testament to her consistent excellence on the international stage.
She amassed 325 runs in the ODI series at a remarkable average of 162.5 and took six wickets. In the T20I series, she continued her stellar form, scoring 126 runs at an average of 42 and securing six wickets. Her outstanding contributions earned her four Player of the Match awards and the Player of the Series title in the ODIs.
President Shallow praised Matthews' achievements, stating, “Hayley continues to be an inspiration and a beacon of excellence for West Indies cricket. Her dedication, skills, and leadership are evident in her performances, and we are incredibly proud of her accomplishments.”
Matthews edged out strong competition from South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu to claim the award. Her latest triumph adds to her previous wins in November 2021 and October 2023, making her one of the most decorated players in this category. Only Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner has won the ICC Women’s Player of the Month award more times than Matthews.
Reflecting on CWI’s commitment to women's cricket, Dr. Shallow remarked, “CWI’s continuous efforts to support and develop women’s cricket are yielding remarkable results. Hayley’s success is a clear indicator of the growth and potential of women’s cricket in the West Indies. We remain steadfast in our mission to provide our female cricketers with the best opportunities to excel.”
President Shallow also emphasized the broader impact of Matthews' success: “Hayley’s achievements not only bring pride to West Indies cricket but also inspire young girls across the Caribbean to pursue their dreams in the sport. Her journey is a powerful narrative of what can be achieved when desire meets hard work and determination.”
CWI remains committed to fostering the development of women’s cricket through robust programs, dedicated support, and investment in talent. The success of players like Hayley Matthews showcases the progress being made and the bright future of women’s cricket in the region.
Ambrose bullish on West Indies’ chances at T20 World Cup
West Indies great and ICC Hall of Famer Curtly Ambrose believes his former team have enough talent to win an unprecedented third ICC Men's T20 World Cup title next month.
While the West Indies are just one of the two sides to have won multiple men’s T20 World Cup titles, the Caribbean team will need to overturn some poor form at recent ICC tournaments, if they are to become the only three-time winner of the event.
The West Indies didn't make it out of the first round of the most recent T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022 and failed to even qualify for last year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India.
But Ambrose thinks the West Indies' fortunes are turning under skipper Rovman Powell and pointed to T20I series successes over powerhouses South Africa, India, and England in the last 14 months as evidence of this.
These returns have the legendary fast bowler confident of a strong showing from the West Indies in the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup, an event they will co-host with the USA.
"We have a very, very good team. As we speak they (West Indies players) are in Antigua at a camp preparing themselves for the start of the T20 World Cup which is a couple of weeks away," Ambrose said while speaking at the launch of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York earlier this week.
"I believe once the guys start playing consistent cricket and smart cricket, I believe we can take the trophy. It is not going to be easy, but we are one of only two nations to have won it twice so we are going to try and make it three. And no other nation has ever won it on home soil, so all that is motivation for the guys to do well and I am hoping they can do it,” he added.
The West Indies are drawn in Group C at the T20 World Cup and face the champions of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier Papua New Guinea first up in Guyana on June 2, before their remaining opening round fixtures against Uganda, New Zealand and Afghanistan.
Ambrose expects to see some upsets at this year's edition of the T20 World Cup as he knows every side has plenty of talented players at their disposal.
"I admire a lot of cricketers (at the T20 World Cup) and I am looking forward to them doing well. As a proud Antiguan and being from the West Indies, I want the West Indies to win,” he said.
"It is not going to be easy because in T20 cricket every team has an equal chance of beating any other team and that is just the nature of T20 cricket. It is going to be exciting, but I am going to be rooting for the West Indies,” Ambrose ended.
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