Cricket Australia (CA) has announced a restructuring of the contracting system for women’s international and state cricket

A big announcement came yesterday from Cricket Australia (CA).

There will be a new  contract system for the women’s state and international cricket which will make national team  members some of the best paid female athletes in the country .

The very welcomed news came alongside the naming of the Australia woman’s side to tour England in the Ashes series .

The top player retainer increases from $15,000 to $52,000 and the minimum retainer increases from $5,000 to $25,000. This will result in some players being able to play cricket full time, which is the case with their male counterparts.

Of this landmark move in Australia CA chief Executive James Sutherland  commented  “The Southern Stars devote a huge amount of time and energy into being the number one team in the world in all formats and we feel that this is a landmark step in recognising their commitment and contribution to cricket as Australia’s favourite sport.

“The recent success of the Southern Stars has led to unprecedented media coverage and recognition, as well as playing a significant role in driving an increase in female cricket participation by 18 per cent in the last 12 months taking us to 180,000 female participants.”

The Ashes Squad are as follows:  Jodie Fields (c), Alex Blackwell, Jessica Cameron, Sarah Coyte, Sarah Elliott, Holly Ferling, Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Julie Hunter, Jessica Jonassen, Meg Lanning, Erin Osborne, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Elyse Villani.