ECB boss promises exciting future for Domestic cricket in England

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In an interview with Sky Sports, the ECB chief executive Tom Harrison outlined proposals for the women's game. This would allow the women’s game in England and Wales to grow beyond its current limits.



The main point was that the ECB is in the process of making cricket in England ‘Gender neutral.' Harrison went on to add that it should be 'as much a sport for women and girls as it is for boys and men.’



While Harrison admits that the high-performance side is well looked after that there needs to be a ‘clarity of pathway right through from when a girl picks up a bat at Allstars at five-years-old.’



The aim is to do this over the next five-year period. The finer details are currently not known outside of ECB circles, but this announcement is encouraging. Participation among women and girls in England and Wales is increasing, the headline figure suggests an overall growth of an 18 per cent rise in participation.



Asked if women’s cricket could become self-sufficient Harrison again was optimistic stating it was ‘a realistic end goal. ‘Women’s sport is on the up across the board. The women’s game now from an athleticism perspective has been utterly transformed from where it was even five years ago. We will continue to see that progress happen.’



With regards to how the ECB will make this happen will ensure that there is a ‘pathway at county level, in order to have that level across the country.’



It is been an unspoken worry that the depth in English women’s cricket has not been addressed in the same way that it has in Australia.



Harrison also was keen to point out that the women’s game has to find its own pathway. He added that it can ‘not just mirror what has happened in the men’s game.’



Much is still to be decided on the future of Women’s cricket in England and Wales but Harrison has shown that the ECB is committed to making sure that Women’s cricket is on the right path.
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