ICC announces equal prize money for men’s and women’s teams in ICC events

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday announced equal prize money for men’s and women’s teams in ICC competitions, while also making changes to over-rate restrictions in Test cricket.

“This decision was taken at the ICC Annual Conference in Durban, South Africa, and ensures that the ICC Board fulfills its commitment to reach prize money equity by 2030 ahead of schedule,” the ICC said in an official statement. Teams will now receive equal prize money for equal finishing positions in comparable events, as well as match winnings in those events. (Yashaswi Jaiswal: From selling pani puri to winning IPL 2023 Emerging Player of the Year award; Interesting facts about India’s batsmen – in pictures)

From the next cycle, the ICC will award equal prize money to the men’s and women’s champion and runner-up teams in its global events.

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“This is an important moment in the history of our sport and I am delighted that male and female cricketers competing in ICC global events will now be rewarded equally. Since 2017 we have increased prize money in women’s competitions every year with a clear focus on reaching equal prize money and from now on, winning the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup will carry the same prize money as winning the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. The same goes for the T20 World Cup and the Under19s,” ICC President Greg Barclay was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the ICC.

JUST: Equal prize money was announced for men’s and women’s teams in ICC events.

Details – ICC (@ICC) 13 July 2023

“Cricket is truly a game for all and this decision by the ICC Board reinforces this and enables us to equally celebrate and value each and every player’s contribution to the game,” he added.

The ICC Board also confirmed the biggest ever investment in the sport after agreeing on a distribution model for the next four years. Each ICC member will receive significantly increased funding with a Strategic Investment Fund to drive global development initiatives in line with the ICC Global Development Strategy.

The ICC statement further read, “The champions and runners-up of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 and 2023 will win US$1 million and US$500,000 respectively, more than five times the amount awarded in 2018.”

It added, “The prize money for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 has been increased from USD 2 million to USD 3.5 million for winning the 2017 edition in England.”

The Chief Executives’ Committee has approved changes to Test cricket’s over-rate penalty to achieve a balance between the need to preserve over-rates and the need to provide equitable compensation for players.

Under the new rules, which will come into effect at the start of the current World Test Championship cycle, players will be fined 5 per cent of their match fees for each over they fall short, with a maximum fine of 50 per cent.

In particular, if a team is dismissed before the 80-over mark is reached and the new ball has not yet been delivered, no over-rate penalty will be applied, regardless of any possible delay. This amendment replaces the previous requirement of 60 overs.

In an official statement released by the ICC, Sourav Ganguly, chairman of the ICC Men’s Cricket Committee, said: “The ICC World Test Championship has injected new energy into Test cricket and given it a compelling context.”

“Last edition we had only 12 draws out of 69 matches, and we want to ensure that this trend continues, while giving fans the best value for money and keeping the over-rates high. The Men’s Cricket Committee strongly felt that the fine in the form of over-rate WTC points deduction should remain, but recommended that players should not risk 100 per cent of their match fees. We believe that this Provides a balance between maintaining the over-rate and ensuring that we are not stopping players from playing Test cricket,” he added.