The ECB have today announced that the Women’s Cricket Super League has attracted strong interest at
the first stage of the host award process.
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.
“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.”
MD
10/VIII/15
10/VIII/15
I had only heard of a few announced "expression of interest" for the Super League so thought they might be struggling. I must admit I was a bit skeptical, but then there was reason to be. It's good to hear there was more going on behind the scenes after all. 28 hosts would seem like a high enough number to make sure the final 6 can offer some healthy competition. Good stuff and well done ECB (so far!)
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