The Hundred will offer women and men equal prize money for the inaugural competition this summer.
The total prize budget of £600,000 will be split 50-50 between the men’s and women’s tournaments and is a step towards the ECB’s long-term commitment to make cricket a gender-balanced sport.
The new 100-ball event begins in July – the men’s competition starts with Oval Invincibles hosting Welsh Fire on Friday, July 17, and the women’s with Birmingham Phoenix against Manchester Originals on Wednesday, July 22. Beth Barrett-Wild, head of The Hundred women’s competition, described the announcement as a significant step in the right direction towards genuine gender equality in the sport but admitted they are very aware of discrepancies which still exist, most notably with regards to salaries.
“The Hundred gives us a brilliant opportunity to present men’s and women’s cricket on the same platform. Everything from the team branding and identities – we are doing everything for both sets of players,” she told Sky Sports News.
“It’s a great moment with a blank piece of paper, a signal of intent. Prize money is a real moment we can make some noise about”.
