London Spirit captain Charlie Dean hopes that more investment into The Hundred can close the pay gap between the men’s and women’s competitions.
Players in the women’s top bracket of this year’s edition of The Hundred are set to earn £65,000, a 30 per cent increase on last year, for a month of cricket.
In comparison, the best-paid men in the franchise competition will get £200,000 each – 60 per cent more than in 2024.
The Hundred is set to benefit from a major investment boost following the sale of stakes in its eight teams to overseas buyers for around £500m.
“One of The Hundred’s biggest taglines is about equality and equal opportunity,” said England all-rounder Dean.
“When you champion that and the numbers are slightly different, then there can be questions that are asked.
“Hopefully with this new investment we keep moving forward in a way to stop pay disparity moving further away from each other.
“It’s great our pay is increasing year-on-year. It feels like we get to a point where we feel like we should be grateful for where we’re at but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep pushing forward.”
Investment from sale of stakes in The Hundred
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chair Richard Thompson last week hailed “an exciting new phase” for cricket as the governing body confirmed the sale of stakes in six out of eight franchises.
The ECB added that deals for the Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets remained on track to formally complete at a later date.
The stake sales valued the eight Hundred franchises at more than £975m, and are set to provide the ECB with a £520m windfall to be invested in cricket at all levels across England and Wales.
This year’s edition of The Hundred kicks off on Tuesday with London Spirit taking on Oval Invincibles in both the men’s and the women’s competition.