Australian star Beth Mooney has said women’s cricket must continue to push the boundaries to reduce the gender pay gap in cricket.
The star batsman’s comments came as she prepares to make her long-awaited return to The Hundred. Beth Mooney is returning to the competition after a season-long break. In 2022, the 30-year-old played for London Spirit before skipping the tournament last year. For the current season, she has been signed up as an overseas player for Manchester Originals.
In 2023, the England and Wales Cricket Board had set £31,250 as the maximum salary for the draft before the amount was increased to £50,000 for this year’s draft. Beth Mooney was the Originals’ first pick in the draft and received the top-tier deal of £50,000. On the other hand, the maximum salary for men in the Hundred is £125,000.
Women’s pay in the Hundred is also considerably lower than what players earn in the Women’s Premier League. In the WPL, the highest-earning player, Smriti Mandhana, had received around £320,000 at the inaugural auction in 2023. Beth Mooney had also received a lucrative £200,000 contract from Gujarat Giants at the WPL auction last year.
Men still earn more: Beth Mooney
On Wednesday (July 24), Beth Mooney highlighted the gender pay gap in the Hundred. At the same time, she also said that the tournament offers a good opportunity for women’s cricket in terms of exposure, fan base and quality.
“I’m not sure it’s an equal tournament because the men still get paid more,” Mooney told ESPNcricinfo. “But yes, in terms of exposure, fan base and quality of the tournament, it’s certainly up there with one of the best in the world. It’s doing a great job of getting more opportunities for women in this country to play cricket, but, as with any women’s sport, we’re not quite up to par with equal opportunities.”
The Australian star also shared her views on the Independent Cricket Fairness Commission’s recommendation on pay parity in English cricket. She said meeting the target for next year is difficult but asserted that women’s cricket must continue to push the boundaries.
“I don’t know if it’s an achievable goal,” she said. “Men obviously generate a lot of revenue worldwide, in terms of viewership and streaming and things like that, so the remuneration part is always a little bit difficult.”
“But we need to keep pushing the boundaries a bit further. I think we need to keep asking the right questions of the ICC and each of the different country boards, and make sure that we continue to strive to get, first and foremost, more girls into the game, but making sure that there is equal opportunity for all countries and for women as well,” she added.