Money? That’s not what we want!

ENGLAND’S World Cup winners insist they are unconcerned about cashing in on their sudden status as national heroes and role models to the next generation of women’s cricketers.

The astonishing success in Sunday’s World Cup final win over India at Lord’s leaves the players in a strong position to enhance their full-time contracts worth around £50,000 a year. But England, who are represented collectively by the Professional Cricketers’ Association, are happy with their win bonus of £34,000 for each member of the 15-woman squad and have no desire to put money first.

‘I think it’s probably in the back of our minds somewhere,’ said player of the tournament Tammy Beaumont. ‘None of this group started playing cricket as a career, we did it because we love the game and you can see that on the pitch.

‘To be able to do this as a job is a dream come true and this is probably going to be a landmark moment for the women’s game. Money is a by-product of that and is not something any of us are aiming for.’

Her thoughts were echoed by player of the match Anya Shrubsole, whose burst of five for 19 in 11 balls snatched victory for England from the jaws of defeat. ‘You don’t think about money,’ said Shrubsole. ‘You just want to play for England and be the best cricketer you can be. When we all started it wasn’t professional and I had no idea we would be where we are now. People will come in as professionals but none of us are money driven.’

This could be a watershed for English and world women’s cricket.

‘ This is a brilliant opportunity for cricket to grow,’ said Nat Sciver, who made two World Cup centuries and even invented her own shot, the ‘Natmeg’.

‘one of our aims was to try to inspire youngsters and the tournament has exceeded all our expectations.’