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Post by newby on Apr 17, 2024 19:10:40 GMT
Northern Diamonds get their season underway on Saturday when they take on Lancashire Lightning in the first round of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint trophy.
The game is being played at the Riverside, so the opposition are billed as 'arch rivals' rather than it being a roses clash.
This is the final season for the Northern Diamonds brand, next year they will revert to being either Yorkshire or Durham, the decision on which is to be announced fairly soon. All part of the ECB's grand plan now they have realised made up names don't work in terms of getting support, and the ladies game needs to be aligned to the Counties in order to flourish.
Only 8 counties though, there aren't enough good female cricketers to go round, and/or the ECB only have enough money to pay £1.25M each to 8 counties to take them off their hands. The current bidding process pits the counties against each other to see who can promise the most investment to top up the ECB money.
I think I was hoping Durham might make the better bid and so save Yorkshire a few bob, but looking at the arrangements for the first game I'm not so sure how serious Durham's bid might be, and whether they really want a ladies team.
Entrance to the game at the Riverside on Saturday is free for everyone. I'm taking that as meaning they don't think they can get a crowd if they ask them to pay.
At Headingley, for the other games in the competition it's £5 for over 27's and just £1 for youngsters and oldsters. They will lose money at those prices I'm sure, but at least they will recoup some of the cost.
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Post by karma on Apr 17, 2024 20:37:24 GMT
It is strongly rumoured that Yorkshire's 'bid' has been unsuccessful for 'tier one'women's cricket , will be announced soon and after YCCC's efforts and considerable investment in recent years.
It is also believed that Gloucestershire and Middlesex have also missed out.
Following on the poor share of Test Matches for some years I believe this is just another example of the ECB's continued bias against Yorkshire.
Other biases are available
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Post by newby on Apr 18, 2024 8:14:51 GMT
As suspected Yorkshire missed out, though there is a bit of a compromise situation with them being funded to run a tier 1 team for a couple of years before joining in an expansion. I don't think they will be able to keep hold of the best Yorkshire players, or coaches though.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced the eight counties that will host professional women's teams as part of a major restructure of the domestic game from 2025.
'Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire have all been awarded Tier 1 status.
Glamorgan and Yorkshire join them in 2027 as part of an expansion.
The ECB also intends to add a further two teams in 2029.
In 2025, the eight selected counties will replace the regions that have competed in the Charlotte Edwards Cup and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in recent years.
The plans will see the creation of a three-tiered domestic competition structure which the ECB says could lead to an 80% increase in professional women's players in England and Wales by 2029.
There will be £8m of new funding every year for the women's domestic game by 2027, taking annual investment to about £19m.
Glamorgan and Yorkshire will receive additional funding from 2025 to run their own 'Tier 1 standard' talent pathways in preparation for joining the top tier in 2027.
The location of the two teams to be added in 2029 has not been decided.'
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Post by slowleftarmer on Apr 18, 2024 8:26:45 GMT
yes, the outcome will be better players from Yorkshire go elsewhere to compete at the higher level, so a bit like how we have been treated in the Hundred with Malan, Root and Bairstow sent to Nottingham and Cardiff whilst the Superchargers get Ben Stokes as their centrally contracted star draw..... and he has played how many games for them....?
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Post by newby on Apr 18, 2024 10:40:29 GMT
I'm not an advocate of Women's cricket by any means but I'm pleased to see they have finally realised if it's going to grow it needs a County base.
I would have gone for a more modest system that allowed the 16 counties that showed an interest in hosting a women's teams equal funding. Indeed with such a system they may well have managed to get all 18 counties on board with an equal footing.
It's difficult to argue against the ECB pumping in money during the current climate of EDI in sport, the question is how much money and for how long.
A big argument put forward is that of course women's cricket will continue to need subsidising, but so does the men's County structure. From there you go to equality of pay for both groups, which of course you would be shouted down for arguing against.
As I see it the men's Country structure is subsidised because it leads to team England's men team, which is where all the money comes from in terms of TV deals, ticket sales, sponsorship and all the rest.
Has anyone done the sums to see if this is ever likely to be the case with women's cricket, I suspect they wouldn't tell us if they had.
My suspicion is that women's cricket will always lose money, even at the very top level.
The bigger the ECB build it, the more money they will have to keep pumping into it.
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Post by slowleftarmer on Apr 18, 2024 11:32:50 GMT
it will always lose money until it can attract the same size crowds as the mens game. At the moment, its partly being propped up by the mens game with double headers for T20s and the Hundred but compare the numbers watching the 2 games on the same day.
It will also continue to lose money whilst they try and pay attractive salaries to the women so they are closer to the mens pay, even if those salaries cannot be affordable.
But if its cut adrift and left to stand on its own two feet, then its going to be even harder for the womens game I suspect
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Post by hawke on Apr 18, 2024 19:47:42 GMT
Is it too much to suppose the ECB could not bring themselves to reward us sinners?
All for the counties of course but how ironic given the direction of the men’s game
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Post by newby on Apr 19, 2024 11:15:08 GMT
The ECB would of course not want to reward Yorkshire but looking at it logically this is a punishment, whatever Ian Gould may have to say on the subject.
The team, the coaching, the personal circumstances of the players are set up already and based at Headingley, now they all have to up sticks and move to Durham, or face a commuting nightmare.
I'm pleased to see Durham have not been forgotten of course but surely the expansion and set up costs promise given to Glamorgan and Yorkshire would have made a lot more sense being directed at Durham and Glamorgan.
Northern Diamonds I think will struggle this season and it all seems so unnecessary.
Durham of course will be delighted to have a fully functioning team ready to go. I hope it works for them I really do, but I wonder where the paying customers are going to come from.
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