The steep rise in the women’s game

In a groundbreaking announcement from the ICC in July, prize money parity was declared for men’s and women’s teams at ICC events.

It was a natural progression to get to this point, with ICC Chairman Greg Barclay highlighting at the time prize money in ICC women’s events had been on the increase through several events.

“Since 2017 we have increased prize money at women’s events every year with a clear focus on reaching equal prize money and from here on in, winning the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup will carry the same prize money as winning the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the same for T20 World Cups and U19s too,” Barclay said.

ICC announces equal prize money for men's and women’s cricket

To quote numbers, the winners and runners-up at the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 and 2023 received $1 million and $500,000 respectively, which was five times the amount offered in 2018.

The prize money for the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022 was $3.5m, nearly double of that from the event in 2017.

The move by the ICC was hailed around the world, with a host of captains and experienced players from various countries showing their support.

This significant step in women’s cricket isn’t a one-off with several member boards also making key decisions to improve parity in the sport.

Here, we take a look at a few other major milestones achieved in the women’s game in the last few years.

Equal pay from member boards

In 2022, New Zealand Cricket and the players' association signed a historic deal for five years that saw male and female cricketers receive equal pay.

"It's great for the international and domestic women players to be recognised in the same agreement, alongside the men," White Ferns skipper Sophie Devine said at the time.

The agreement saw women's cricketers, notably at both international and domestic level, receive the same match fees as men’s players across all formats.

Last year, BCCI announced equal match fees for men and women cricketers in international matches.

Under the renewed policy, the women cricketers had match fees go up to INR 15 lakh for a Test (from INR 2.5 lakhs), 6 lakh for an ODI (from INR 1 lakh) and 3 lakh for a T20I (from INR 1 lakh).

Former India captain Mithali Raj hailed the decision as a “historic” one.

Cricket Australia also declared a hefty pay rise for their women cricketers earlier this year. Under the agreement, the women players will share in $133 million ($AUD) over a five-year period.

The boost in pay - jumping from $80 million in the previous agreement - came on the back of similar increases in New Zealand and India.

South Africa too became the latest country to provide equal pay across genders in August 2023, stating their male and female cricketers would receive the same match fees for international matches. Following the historic announcement, the board also announced an updated structure to their domestic women’s competition to boost motivation and participation among women players.

England then followed suit at the end of August, with skipper Heather Knight hailing the news as a "fantastic" development and believed it would make cricket an increasingly attractive sport to girls and young women

“It’s really important that we continue to drive the women’s game forward and it’s fantastic to see equal match fees for England Women and England Men," she said.

“The direction of travel for the women’s game has always been the most important thing, creating a sustainable product that people want to watch and play, and I’m sure this will make cricket an increasingly attractive sport to girls and young women as we continue to grow the game.”

Maternity leave for women cricketers

In 2019, Cricket Australia unveiled a new policy aimed at providing comprehensive support to its cricketers who become parents through birth or adoption. This progressive policy grants players the opportunity to take up to 12 months of paid parental leave, ensuring that they have the necessary time and resources to care for their newborn or adopted child.

Cricket Australia's policy recognises the important role of primary caregivers in their children's lives. It extends support to players who resume their sporting careers after the initial parental leave period. This support includes covering the expenses associated with child care and a designated caregiver, encompassing essential aspects such as accommodation and travel arrangements.

Through this policy, Cricket Australia demonstrated its commitment to promoting work-life balance and gender equality among its cricketers.

The same year, New Zealand cricketer Amy Satterthwaite took an indefinite break from cricket while preparing for her first child, but continued to receive her annual retainer. She benefitted from the new pregnancy leave provisions included in the new agreement that was formulated by New Zealand Cricket.

A year later she returned to top flight cricket, playing for two more years before announcing her retirement.

Pakistan followed suit in 2021, launching a parental policy that allowed male and female players to get paid leave during pregnancy and upon the birth of a child. Women will get up to 12 months of paid leave, with men allowed 30 days.

Bismah Maroof benefitted from the policy, having taken an indefinite break from the game that year for pregnancy.

“Now that we have a maternity leave policy, I am hopeful that it will attract more women and girls to take up the sport as this will help them strike a crucial work-life balance,” Wasim Khan, the then PCB chief executive officer, said at the time.

Record viewership in women’s ICC tournaments

Changes within the women’s game have also reflected in the growing interest among fans.

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 was the most watched ICC women’s event to date with global viewing hours for the event reaching a record 192 million, a 44% increase from the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia.

Broadcast figures in South Africa, the host nation, saw a 130% increase in live coverage. The overall viewership figures for the event shattered past records with a 790% increase in fans tuning in to enjoy the World Cup compared to the previous edition in 2020.

The 2022 Women’s Cricket World Cup set records, registering an extraordinary 1.64 billion total video views across ICC channels, which is the fourth-most digitally engaged ICC event ever behind the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 and 2022.