Women's domestic cricket in England underwent a major transition over the winter, with teams now aligned with traditional men's counties as a professional structure for the first time. Here's what the new structure and different competitions will look like this year.
Who are the new counties?
Under the previous system, eight professional teams competed at the top level of women's domestic cricket in England. These teams all represented regions of England and Wales which encompassed multiple counties, with matches split between the home grounds of each of those counties.
The new system sees all counties in England, including national counties without first-class status, divided into three Tiers of competition. Tier One counties will be professional sides, with eight counties having been awarded Tier One status for this season. Ten counties will make-up the second tier of the structure, which features a mix of semi-professional sides, and 19 counties will compete in Tier Three.
While Yorkshire and Glamorgan are set to be promoted to Tier One in 2026 and 2027 respectively, this year they will both compete as Tier Two teams.
Tier One counties in 2025
Durham
Essex
Hampshire
Lancashire
The Blaze (aligned with Nottinghamshire)
Somerset
Surrey
Warwickshire
Tier Two counties in 2025
Derbyshire
Glamorgan
Gloucestershire
Kent
Leicestershire
Middlesex
Northamptonshire
Sussex
Worcestershire
Yorkshire
What are the new women's domestic competitions?
Just as the women's sides have been aligned with the counties, the domestic white-ball competitions will also be mirrored across both genders for the first time in 2025. Women's sides will compete in their Tiers in the Women's T20 Blast and Women's One Day Cup, including playing in double-header style match-days with their counterpart male county teams.
The women's sides will compete in two T20 Blast competitions and two One Day Cup competitions – one in each competition contested by Tier One sides and one contested by Tier Two sides. Both the Tier One and Tier Two T20 Blast competitions will culminate in a Finals Day.
The T20 Blast competitions will get underway at the same time as the men's editions, with fixtures starting on May 29, while Tier Two of the One Day Cup will begin on April 19, with the Tier One competition starting on April 23.
The Tier Two T20 Blast Finals Day is set to take place at Northampton on July 27 and the Tier One Finals Day is set for the following day at The Oval. The Tier Two One Day Cup final will be played on September 14 at New Road, and the Tier One final will be played on September 21 at Utilita Bowl.
What is the new Women's County Cup?
The ECB has launched a brand new competition which will begin this year and will be exclusive to the women's domestic game. The Women's County Cup has been billed as an FA Cup-style knockout competition, with all 37 teams across Tiers One, Two and Three set to compete. Tier One sides will receive a bye for the first two rounds of the competition, which will be played between Tier Two and Three teams.
Round One of fixtures will get underway on May 5, with 13 matches played on that day – Northumberland, Leicestershire, and Suffolk all received first-round byes in the draw. Eight matches will then be played in Round Two, which will whittle the number of remaining Tier Two and Three sides in the competition down to eight before the Tier One teams enter the competition. Four winners from the second round of matches are guaranteed to play each other in Round Three, avoiding a clash with Tier One sides, meaning that at least two teams from Tier Two or Three are guaranteed to be in the quarter-finals.
The quarter finals will be played on Saturday, May 24, before a Finals Day will be played in Taunton on Monday, May 26.
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