England captain Heather Knight says she “barely got expenses” at the start of her career as she reflected on the “remarkable” progress of women’s cricket following the announcement of equal match fees.
Players for England women’s side will receive payment in line with the men’s team for international appearances with immediate effect.
Knight and her team-mates are set to benefit from the change for the first time on Thursday evening during the opening match of their Vitality IT20 series against Sri Lanka at Hove.
The 32-year-old admits she could not have envisaged pay parity with the men when she made her England debut in 2010.
“Not really, no,” she said. “I don’t think so.
“Back then it felt like a very long way off and it’s remarkable how things have progressed.
“When you’re in it and things improve gradually, you don’t realise until you look back to what it was like back then in the early days of my career.
“It’s mad when you look back to 2010 when I started, we barely got expenses.
“To now be in a position to be professional and then earn a decent living from the game is obviously really pleasing.”
The change, revealed on Wednesday morning, was recommended in the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report, which found discrimination is “widespread” in English and Welsh cricket.
It said women were paid 25 per cent of men’s fees for white-ball and 15 per cent for Tests by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Knight feels this summer’s thrilling women’s Ashes series against Australia, which attracted record-breaking crowds, was a “watershed” moment.
She also believes there is room for further development, including making the women’s domestic game fully professional
“It’s another really good step forward for the game,” she continued. “It’s kind of reward from what’s been a remarkable summer.
“You talk about the women’s game playing a big role in the sport and I think this is backing that up with not just words but actions as well.
“When you look at things that happened like the Ashes, the amount of support we’ve had, the momentum that that series had and the support that it had, I think that felt like a real watershed moment.
“I guess this is kind of following on from that and just another progression.
“There are still areas that we can get better and investing in the pathway and making the domestic game fully professional is another key priority to continue to have that sustainability of the women’s game.
“It’s really pleasing but hopefully there are more things down the line that will continue to improve.”
England could hand debuts to wicketkeeper-batter Bess Heath and 17-year-old fast bowler Mahika Gaur for their sold-out series opener against Sri Lanka in Sussex.
Top-ranked T20 bowler Sophie Ecclestone, batter Sophia Dunkley and experienced all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt have been rested.
Speaking of teenager Gaur, Knight said: “She’s unique, a left-armer that’s, I think, 6ft 3in, which is pretty mad.
“I think she’s had a growth spurt since the first time I met her a couple of months ago so she obviously brings that.
“She’s got a pretty good action and swings the ball late. She’s very young so we have to manage her pretty carefully and make sure we’re looking after her as a person and as a cricketer.
“She’s certainly exciting.
“We’ve obviously rested a few senior players so that gives us a chance to try and grow the pool of players we’re picking from.”
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
'I was a tired, grumpy old man' - Stokes apologised to England team-mates after Pakistan defeat
Ben Stokes says he apologised to his England team-mates after his frustrations were evident during the second-Test defeat by Pakistan.
The hosts levelled the three-Test series on Thursday after wrapping up a 152-run win in Multan.
However, it could have been a different story but for fielding errors at crucial stages for the visitors, Jamie Smith and Joe Root notably dropping catches to dismiss Salman Agha, whose subsequent knock of 63 helped Pakistan seal victory with a day to spare.
Stokes, who returned to action following a hamstring injury, could not hide his frustration during a difficult day for England, but insisted he would not let his emotions get the better of him again.
"No one means to drop catches, but it just proves how important catches are in these subcontinent conditions, they don't come along that often," he told Sky Sports.
"I actually apologised to the group last night. It's the first time in my captaincy that I've let my emotions and how I was feeling with the way the game was unfolding show in my body language.
"I owned up to that and was very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It's something that I don't want to do or be seen to be doing, so I apologised to the group about that.
"Poor old me, I was a tired, grumpy old man last night! You won't see that happen again."
However, England coach Brendon McCullum defended the actions of his skipper.
"We all know how passionate Ben is, how much it means for him to play for England," he said.
"We've seen that through his bloody-mindedness to get back from injury, which was significant, and to do so in a nine-week timeframe and to have his first TM [Test match] in extreme conditions, 40 degrees, and be able to give what he gave to the side.
"I think, maybe, that's where some of that frustration led to - certainly, it wasn't directed at any of the players. It was more about trying to assess the rhythm of the game, and to impact on it."
Sri Lanka breeze to series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka cruised to a nine-wicket victory over West Indies to seal a T20I series triumph.
With the series delicately poised at 1-1 heading into the final match on Thursday, Sri Lanka started with intent in Dambulla.
Maheesh Theekshana (2-19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2-24) led the charge as Sri Lanka skittled through the Windies' top order.
Rovman Powell's stubborn 37 and a contribution of 32 from Gudakesh Motie steered West Indies to a reasonable total of 162-8, but it was one well within reach of Sri Lanka.
Pathum Nissanka clipped seven fours and one six in a 22-ball 37 to get Sri Lanka's chase rolling at pace, before he was bowled by Gudakesh Mottie (1-31).
Yet the damage was mostly done, with Kusal Mendis powering his way to an unbeaten 68 and Kusal Perera plundering 55 from 36 balls to get the job done with the minimum of fuss.
Data Debrief: Perera closing in on Sri Lanka record
Perera is now just nine runs away from surpassing Tillakaratne Dilshan (1,889) as the leading scorer in Sri Lanka's T20I history.
His efforts, combined with those of Nissanka and Mendis, saw Sri Lanka win for a fourth time in their last six T20Is at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, although this is the first time they have won at the venue in that run when batting second.
The Windies' miserable record in Asia has continued, meanwhile. They have won only one of their last 11 T20Is in Asia (L10), with that victory coming in the first match of this series. They have now lost 33 T20Is on the continent in total, with only Ireland (35) having lost more.
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