The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has received 28 'expressions of interest' in the opening stage of the process to determine the six team hosts for the inaugural Women's Cricket Super League.
The opportunity to host a team was outlined last month and laid open to any forward thinking cricket-minded organisation, both from within and outside of the traditional cricket landscape.
The range of 'expressions of interest' submitted feature:
- All 18 First Class counties, on their own or in collaboration with other local partners
- A broad geographical spread across England and Wales
- A diverse variety of organisations, including innovative partnership working between cricket bodies, educational institutions and local authorities
The Women's Cricket Super League will start in the summer of 2016 and during its first season will be comprised solely of T20 cricket. From 2017 onwards the structure will develop to both T20 and 50-over formats.
Speaking about the strong opening response to the award process,
ECB Director of England Women's Cricket, Clare Connor, said:
The level of interest shown in becoming a Women's Cricket Super League team host through the initial 'expression of interest' process has been remarkable and reflects a strong, national appetite for a new and dynamic competition.
Despite levels of participation in sport and exercise being a concern across the UK, participation in women's and girls' cricket has seen pleasing growth in recent years. We are really excited about the innovative opportunity that the Women's Cricket Super League gives us to reach new participants and attract new fans to the game, and we are determined to make the most of this opportunity.
We now look forward to exploring each different approach, finding out who the six eventual hosts will be, and then working with them to create the high performance environments which are best placed to secure England's success on the international stage for years to come.
ECB Women's Cricket Super League General Manager, Jo Kirk, who was appointed in July, added:
The variety of the organisations involved and the extent of collaborative work outlined within the 'expressions of interest' received is really exciting. We are now looking forward to seeing how each of the 28 plans develop through the invitation-to-tender window.
Internal ECB assessments of responses and interviews of prospective hosts will take place during October and November. It is anticipated that the final confirmation of the hosts for the six Women's Cricket Super League teams will be announced during December 2015.
You can see the best England Women players take on Australia's Southern Stars at The SSE SWALEC on August Bank Holiday Monday (31st August) as part of a NatWest International T20 double header. For ticket information please click
here