ICC declares same cash reward for both male and female teams in all tournaments
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that men’s and women’s teams will receive equal prize money for all events organized by the governing body. The recent decision taken during the ICC Annual Conference in Durban, South Africa, to provide equal prize money to both men’s and women’s teams in all events organized by the governing body is a significant step towards achieving gender parity in the sport.
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Teams will receive the same amount of money for finishing in similar positions at “comparable events” and equal prizes for winning matches. The modification will also be implemented in Under-19 tournaments. ICC chairman Greg Barclay called it a “significant moment” in the sport’s history.
The ICC has also said that it has “surpassed” its timeline for achieving prize money parity by 2030. Although the prize money for the Women’s 2023 T20 World Cup has been increased by five times to $1 million for the winner and $500,000 for the runners-up, it still falls short of the amounts given in the men’s T20 World Cup. The move is expected to boost the profile of women’s cricket and encourage more girls to take up the sport. It is hoped that other sports will follow the ICC’s lead in promoting gender equality.
ICC has eliminated the 100% match fee penalty for slow over-rates in Tests
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a reduction in the penalties for slow over-rates in Tests. Players will now have to pay five percent of their match fee (instead of 20 percent) as a fine for every over that falls short, with a maximum penalty capped at 50 percent. These rules will apply to the current World Test Championship cycle. The Men’s Cricket Committee recommended the change and said that over-rate penalties in the form of WTC points deductions should remain but players should not have 100% of their match fee at risk.
The committee believes that this change will encourage players to continue playing Test cricket without being deterred by the risk of losing their entire match fee. The change will bring more balance to the game and help maintain over-rates. Additionally, before this change, no over-rate penalty was imposed if a team got bowled before reaching the 60-over mark, regardless of the delays. Now, this has been changed to 80 overs. The ICC is making these changes to ensure that the game of cricket remains fair and competitive for all players.
