(BBC) Up to 24 women’s domestic cricketers will receive a regional retainer to support them financially during the coronavirus pandemic.
The contracts are based around the eight new regional hubs.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) intended to introduce 40 full-time domestic contracts in 2020 but this has been delayed by the pandemic.
“Our drive for a more gender-balanced sport remains vitally important,” explained the ECB’s Clare Connor.
The eight regions will recruit players for the new contracts.
Players will follow strength and conditioning programmes, as well as completing anti-corruption and anti-doping modules.
The Hundred competition, in which the women were set to compete this year, has been postponed until 2021.
“While we still intend to award those full-time contracts in 2020, we want to try to support our players as much as we can until that point,” added Connor, the ECB’s managing director of women’s cricket.
“As we emerge from this pandemic, we believe even more strongly that cricket will be a sport that throws its arms around everyone.”
