London, Aug 24 (IANS): The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tom Harrison has said that the salaries of women cricketers playing in The Hundred will see a substantial increase compared to the inaugural edition of the tournament, which concluded recently.

There has been talk about women players getting far less compared to their male counterparts playing in The Hundred, with the highest-paid women cricketers getting 24,000 pounds while the lowest-paid male player in the tournament received 25,000 pounds. In fact, the lowest pay bracket for women cricketers in the event was 3,600 pounds.

The managing director of the tournament, Sanjay Patel, has said that the event was on target to provide a 10 million pound input into the game, and the ECB wants to use some of that money to make the tournament more lucrative for women cricketers.

"There's going to be some good news for women's salaries. You can expect that," Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.com.

"We've seen in year one how it's already delivering. It's provided outstanding entertainment for new and existing fans alike, unearthed new cricketing heroes, and it's been fantastic to see so many children and families enjoying the action. It's also changed the game for women's cricket, smashing record after record and creating role models for girls and boys to be inspired by," said Harrison.

"We need to grow cricket, reach more people and inspire more children to pick up a bat and ball and that's exactly what the Hundred does."

Patel too is happy with the success of the tournament, claiming that 16.1 million people have watched The Hundred on television, and Harrison said that to keep up the popularity of the tournament, the next edition too will have double-headers.

While the ECB had earlier envisaged hosting the men's and women's matches at different venues, the evolving pandemic situation forced the Board to alter its plans. And it resulted in larger crowds watching women's games.

"The double-header model wasn't the original proposition. We were forced to do that through Covid. But actually it's turned out to be one of the best things that's happened. It was an enforced change which has turned into a huge benefit," said Harrison.

Patel added that the, "men's and women's games just have to go together. For the next three or four years at least I think they have to be together."