Wiltshire Cricket Statement re. Women’s County Domestic Structure

Earlier this week, the ECB confirmed the details of the formation of all three tiers of the new women’s domestic cricket structure. This structure will be launched in full in 2025 and can be read about here; England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) - The Official Website of the ECB

The new structure represents the continued evolution of the women’s county game and Wiltshire Cricket commends and welcomes the increased investment that will be coming from ECB towards all three tiers as well as the continued increase in finance to support the development of the professional women’s game.

As per the image above and the details within the ECB press release, the decision has been taken that all National Counties will be invited to participate in the new Tier 3 competitions from 2025. At this stage we do not have confirmed details about what the competition structure will look like for Tier 3 Cricket and as such we will be looking to consult with ECB closely and play a leading role in shaping what this looks like. Additionally, we are excited by the opportunity to compete against Tier 1 and 2 counties via the knock out cup competition.

Speaking more broadly about the establishment of the new women’s domestic structure, Wiltshire Cricket would like to stress to all of our players, coaches, clubs and partners that despite being placed in to Tier 3 initially this will not hinder our continued ambition to provide the most compelling, well rounded and developmental environment for our current and aspiring county cricketers. As has been reported elsewhere in the media in recent days, Wiltshire Cricket was one of a group of National Counties that had applied for Tier 2 status due to the belief that our track record of progress in recent years, together with our vision and ambition for the future, would have placed us in a great position to deliver Tier 2 Cricket.

That recent success has included achievements such as:

• 9 players progressing in to the Western Storm Emerging Player Programme (EPP) or Academy in the past 24 months
• The introduction of a new Talent ID programme for our Girls pathway
• An increased programme for our girls talent pathway cricketers, including but not limited to; the introduction of 1:2 coaching, strength and conditioning, overseas tours, nutrition workshops and individualised player feedback
• Enhanced coverage of women’s and girls’ talent pathway cricket through improved digital engagement for both players and supporters

Away from specifically pathway cricket, Wiltshire Cricket has also continued to demonstrate a broader commitment to the women’s and girls’ game through achievements such as:

• The launch of our new Women’s Volunteer network and the associated opportunities for women in Cricket in Wiltshire
• Some incredible statistics around female coach education, placing us as the leading county in the country for the percentage of female coaches attending Coaching course compared to males
• The launch of a Senior Women’s county team
• The establishment of the new regional Women’s Premier League
• Our partnership with Her Game Too

All of these achievements have been made possible through the drive, commitment and ambition of the existing Wiltshire Cricket Development team, together with the passion that we see from our players, coaches and volunteers throughout the county. Our Tier 2 application articulated in detail how we planned to create a high performance environment for women county cricketers, the partnerships we would develop locally, and how the new women’s domestic structure would help to amplify the continued development of the whole women’s and girls’ game.

We realise that the decision to place National Counties in to the Tier 3 competition may make the delivery of some of the ambitions outlined in our Tier 2 submission more challenging. We also realise that for the Wiltshire cricketers at the top end of our pathway who harbour ambitions to play the highest standard of cricket possible, there will now some uncertainty around how the new competition structure will work from a practical perspective. In the coming weeks, Wiltshire Cricket will be working closely with ECB to address that and to seek clarity on how the three tiers will work together from a player pathway perspective.

However, whilst there are lots of questions and detail to follow, we would finish by stating that the Tier 2 ambitions referenced above have not been diminished by us being placed in to the Tier 3 structure. In many ways, it is quite the opposite. We will now be looking at creative ways that we can deliver our future plans for the development of our women’s and girls talent pathway. We will also be looking at how we can influence what Tier 3 Cricket ends up looking like and will be looking to work in partnership with ECB and neighbouring counties to ensure that this new women’s domestic structure truly is a game changing moment for our Sport. On that note we would finish by saying how exciting a time this is for the Women’s game. Any increase in investment and profile is positive and we look forward to playing a leading role in developing future county cricketers and in inspiring future generations of girls to strive for a career in Cricket.