The $16 million pay rise coming to the 2025 Cricket World Cup

1 week ago 3

You would think the chance to pocket a slice of $21 million – four times the amount of prizemoney on offer at this Women’s Cricket World Cup from the last – would be at the forefront of Alyssa Healy’s mind.

But when the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Monday that it was increasing the prize pool by $15.7 million for the upcoming 2025 Women’s World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, Healy missed the memo.

Australia’s cricket captain Alyssa Healy.

“It was actually Tahlia McGrath [who] showed me. I didn’t see it initially,” she said of the prizemoney increase.

“I think it’s a great step forward from the ICC and I guess for us as players, it reinforces the value in our game, which is a nice feeling as well.”

Australia collected $1.5 million for winning the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand. At this year’s tournament, which gets under way on September 30, the winners will receive $6.9 million, which means Healy will only need to lead Australia as far as the semi-final – and lose – to walk away with more prizemoney than three years ago.

More importantly to the Australian skipper, the increase will also go into the pockets of teams even if they are knocked out early in the tournament. Each team will earn $382,000 per group stage match and a bonus $52,494 for every win.

“For me, you look at the bottom part of [the prizemoney distribution] and you know, for the nations that are qualifying, that aren’t as well looked after as some of the others, I think it’s a nice little boost for those guys,” she said.

“Not suggesting what teams are down there, or we might be down there, you never really know, but for the teams that are a part of the World Cup to feel valued, I think is great for the global game.”

If Healy’s team were to defend their title it would be the first back-to-back Women’s Cricket World Cup title for Australia since 1982.

“Judging by that fact, it’s bloody hard to do,” she said.

“I think, you don’t really defend a World Cup either, I’ve been quite vocal about that. You’ve got to go and win it. You’ve got to be able to beat every team in the world that’s qualified to be able to lift that trophy, and that’s basically the way we want to approach it.”

The 15-player squad travelling to India ahead of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.

Phoebe Litchfield, who was also announced as part of Cricket Australia’s 15-person squad on Friday, will make her 50-over World Cup debut at this tournament. Like her captain, Litchfield said the cash on offer was a positive sign of how the women’s game has grown.

“While you know, the players reap the rewards for that, I think it’s more of a reflection on where the game’s got to, and that’s really exciting for us and for women’s cricket as a whole. It’s a really massive step forward for women’s cricket.”

Part of accelerating that growth is the chance to play World Cup matches in India, which she said is “a whole different beast in itself”.

“I think it’s the first place I felt like a professional sportswoman. Playing in front of those crowds, I felt like Messi at the World Cup or something like that,” she said.

Australia begin their World Cup campaign on October 1 against New Zealand at the Holkar Stadium in India, streamed on Prime.