ENGLAND’S leading women cricketers are to receive a sizeable wage increase following last year’s triumphant World Cup campaign.

The England and Wales Cricket Board announced today that 10 members are set for a 50 per cent pay rise while there is a 40 per cent increase going into the overall payment pool.

Director of women’s cricket Clare Connor explained how the new deals will take effect for Heather Knight’s team — who beat India in a thrilling World Cup final at Lord’s last year — and others with central contracts.

“Any increase to a player’s salary is judged on performance and potential,” Connor said.

“Ten of our contracted squad will be receiving an increase of 50 per cent or more.”

Connor believes further increases are in store in the future.

“At the moment it’s not about equal pay [for women], but we should be bold — I’m always looking to be ahead of other women’s team sports at international level — and demonstrate a commitment to closing that gap with a bit of urgency,” she added.

“The objective is to get to a situation in 2020 — when the new investment in the game kicks in — whereby the players are paid double what they were paid when they won the World Cup.

“It’s the direction of travel that’s important.

“We have also introduced a bonus pot for series wins for the first time.

“We now have 22 contracted players — more than ever before — including three rookie contracts [Katie George, Alice Davidson-Richards and Freya Davies] to help bridge the gap between the academy and senior England level.

“We are also trying to deepen the level of support we can give to Counties and players through the appointment of Di Lewis, who came from England Netball, to the role of national talent manager.

“Underneath Di we have a team of four regional talent managers, which helps us develop more meaningful relationships with counties and regions. And we have appointed Gareth Breese, the former Durham player, as England performance coach to work alongside Mark Robinson and Ali Maiden.”

The Professional Cricketers’ Association, which had been negotiating the new contracts on behalf of the players for the past six months, welcomed today’s news.

It said negotiations had already for the next pay period, from 2020.

Knight added: “It’s a sign of how professional the women's game is going.

“It’s a sign of how brilliant last year was as well and how many people were interested in where the game's going.

“I am really pleased with the progress over the past six months. The improvements in all areas of the contracts better reflect the professional nature of the women’s game in 2018.”