London, July 18 : The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed the formation of Tier 2 and Tier 3 in its revamped women's domestic cricket structure, set to take full effect from 2025. Derbyshire, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Middlesex, Sussex, Worcestershire and Yorkshire will form Tier 2. The 10 counties will play 50-over and 20-over competitions, with further information on the overall structure and schedule to come out soon.

Tier 3 status, meanwhile, will be awarded to all National Counties who would like to participate in the new competition from 2025. The ECB has also announced the formation of a knock-out cup competition consisting of teams from all three tiers.

The cup competition aims to provide all Counties with the opportunity to compete against each other, play at some of the country's biggest venues, and give players across the pyramid the chance to test their skills on an elevated platform.

ECB also anticipates that the cup competition will be launched in 2025, alongside the establishment of the three-tiered structure. Earlier this year, Durham, Essex, Surrey, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset and Warwickshire were confirmed to be in Tier 1 of the new domestic structure.

'It's exciting to see the three tiers finalised. It brings the new landscape of women's professional domestic cricket one step closer. From next summer we will see up to 39 Counties competing across the new structure, which will both accommodate the growth and accelerate the depth of the women's professional game -' on and off the field.'

'It's taken substantial work from the game to get to this point and having seen how the Counties have shared their plans, I'm so enthused about what comes next. We shouldn't underestimate how big this step is for women's cricket and indeed the whole game.'

'A thriving and sustainable women's domestic pyramid underneath The Hundred and England Women, with more professional female players, increased investment, and enhanced alignment across the men's and women's game, is a huge step forward for cricket,' said Beth Barrett-Wild, director of the women's professional game.

Yorkshire will become a Tier 1 Club for the 2026 season, subject to meeting a series of conditions, and Glamorgan will join Tier 1 in 2027. The ECB has also set the ambition to expand Tier 1 to 12 teams by 2029.

For the duration of the 2025-2028 seasons, all three tiers will be 'closed', with no promotion or relegation. ECB added the plans unveiled to this point equate to eight million pounds of new funding per year being invested into women's domestic cricket by 2027 -' taking annual investment in this area to 19 million pounds.

/IANS