The Hundred marred by controversy over gender pay inequality two days ahead of start

The female cricketers participating in The Hundred have accused the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) of a disparity in pay at the tournament. The board has reportedly failed to respond to a request to compensate part-time female cricketers who might be unable to work their regular jobs during the span of the tournament.

The Hundred does not mandate a bio-secure environment for their players. However, the ECB will conduct a danger evaluation of the external working environment of the players before permitting them to leave the squads.

Unlike the men’s rooster which has professional cricketers almost in its entirety, there are a lot of part-time cricketers among their female counterparts. This could mean that many female cricketers may not be allowed to work their regular jobs during the span of The Hundred.

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England’s Kate Cross shared her concerns with Telegraph Sport about girls dropping out of cricket because they can’t afford to play.

“I don’t want girls to drop out of cricket because they can’t afford to play. Until those lower brackets are topped up, you could have some girls dropping out of this [tournament] because, ultimately, it’s not worth their while with work. And the COVID state of affairs just isn’t serving to since you’ve acquired some women who’re having to drag out of work now. There’s no subsidy for them, as they aren’t allowed to exit of the atmosphere and work.”

Though the women cricketers constitute half the squad of each team in The Hundred, their pay is much lower than that of their male counterparts. The male cricketers are reportedly set to earn in the range of ₹25 lakh to ₹1 crore for the five-week duration. On the other hand, the female cricketers have a pay range of ₹4 lakh to around ₹15 lakh.

What are we describing here? 🤫 pic.twitter.com/6Z3qQHYqM2

— The Hundred (@thehundred) July 18, 2021

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Kate Cross wants ECB to use special funds earmarked for Australian players who opted out of The Hundred

Each squad in The Hundred will have equal number of male and female cricketers

Special funds of ₹10 lakh were earmarked for the 11 women cricketers from Australia as disbursement funds for playing in The Hundred. However, all 11 players later opted out of the tournament. Kate Cross wants the ECB to use this fund to enhance the lower cap of pay for women cricketers.

“The state of affairs that got here out of the truth that the [Australian women were no longer being offered the overseas disturbance fee] was, can the money that’s not getting used be used to prime up these lowest contracted women? And I don’t know, as a result of I didn’t get an answer,” Kate Cross said.

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However, a spokesperson for The Hundred refuted any possibility of redistributing the fund among the domestic lady cricketers.

“These compensation funds have been particularly provided to these abroad ladies’ gamers who face considerably extra complicated journeys, prolonged intervals of quarantine, and longer spells away from residence – challenges home gamers don’t face on the identical scale. Contingency funds used for these payments are also having to meet a wide range of additional costs in staging the competition and keeping people safe during a pandemic, so it is not possible simply to redistribute money to other players.”

The ECB finds itself in a difficult position just before the start of the much-anticipated tournament. It remains to be seen if they will take any last-minute measures to introduce special packages for part-time female cricketers.

Sam Curran: "These can't be going out, are they?" 💬 The Hundred: *Posts video* 😉 pic.twitter.com/noDHeBtDdz

— The Hundred (@thehundred) July 19, 2021