Cricket Australia to top up women's team prize money at T20 World Cup to match men's team pay

Sydney: Cricket Australia (CA) said on Tuesday that it would top up the prize money for the Aussie women’s team for the T20 World Cup next year to ensure parity with the men’s winnings. The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday announced a 320 per cent boost in prize money for the 2020 women’s competition, with the winners taking home $1 million and the runners up $500,000. [caption id=“attachment_4377557” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo Australia women’s cricket team. Reuters[/caption] Cricket Australia will kick in an extra share to match the equivalent prize money for the men’s tournament wherever the women place, up to an additional $600,000 for a win in the finals. “We want to continue our commitment to equality by ensuring that any prize money earned by the Australian Women’s team in the T20 World Cup is the same as what is on offer in the men’s side of the tournament,” Cricket Australia boss Kevin Roberts said in a statement. “While there is no doubt that we are starting to see financial progress for our talented cricketers, we still have a way to go and CA will continue to play a role in driving equality for our athletes,” he added. Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association negotiated an agreement two years ago that saw all players paid the same base rate regardless of gender. The top-ranked Australian women’s team will be hot favourites on their home soil when the T20 World Cup kicks off in February next year. The ICC said increased revenues in the women’s sport would also see the 2021 women’s World Cup prize money pool increase to $3.5 million from $2 million in 2017.