Durham aiming to establish professional women’s team

DURHAM Cricket have announced their intention to bring professional women’s cricket to the region.

The women’s game is currently undergoing a restructure, with the ECB set to assign eight counties with professional women’s teams.

This will form a new structure from 2025 onwards, aimed at further growing women’s cricket across the country.

Durham Cricket, who have one of the most successful men’s pathways in the country, are aiming to mirror the success of the men’s team and develop world-class female players from across the county and wider region.

The club have been preparing for the opportunity to bring professional women’s cricket to the region for a number of years.

They have added new facilities such as the nursery ground, a new high-performance gym and a second set of outdoor grass nets, which will allow the team to not only play their games at Durham’s Seat Unique Riverside stadium but also train on-site alongside the men’s team, creating a hub for cricket development in the north.

Durham’s bid is being supported by Durham Council and a number of organisations from across the region. Not only will it give the women of the region a chance to play professional cricket in the North

East it will also bring investment and jobs.

Durham director of cricket Marcus North (left) said: “This is a huge opportunity for the club and the whole of the north to bring another women’s professional sport to the region.

“We want to give women the same opportunities the men were afforded just over 30 years ago.

“We know we have the female talent across the region, and this will allow them to realise that talent at the highest level in their home region.

“It will also bring with it huge investment and more professional games to the club which will have a wider impact in terms of employment and economic benefit into the area.”

Durham are submitting their bid to bring a Tier 1 women’s team to the county this month and hope to have notification during the summer.