The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has handed a full-time contract to their emerging left-arm quick, Mahika Gaur. Gaur, 18, is of Indian origin and has played five T20Is and two ODIs for the England women's cricket team after she began her playing career representing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) across age group cricket.
The ECB has handed full contracts to 17 players with seven of them bagging a two-year contract and 10 players receiving a one-year contract.
Gaur and her fast-bowling partner Lauren Filer have earned a full-time contract for the first time in their careers. They are the latest entrants in the full-time contract list whereas opening batter Emma Lamb and left-arm speedster Tash Farrant have been left out.
20-year-old allrounder Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Bess Heath and Issy Wong are the three players who have earned development contracts for the next 12-month period.
England Women: Two-year central contracts
Lauren Bell (Hampshire), Charlie Dean (Somerset), Sophie Ecclestone (Lancashire), Amy Jones (The Blaze), Heather Knight (Somerset), Nat Sciver-Brunt (The Blaze), Danni Wyatt-Hodge (Surrey)
England Women: One-year central contracts
Tammy Beaumont (The Blaze), Maia Bouchier (Hampshire), Alice Capsey (Surrey), Kate Cross (Lancashire), Sophia Dunkley (Surrey), Lauren Filer (Durham), Mahika Gaur (Lancashire), Danielle Gibson (Somerset), Sarah Glenn (The Blaze), Freya Kemp (Hampshire)
England Women: Skills / development contracts
Bess Heath (Durham), Ryana MacDonald-Gay (Surrey), Issy Wong (Warwickshire)
Clare Connor, the managing director of England women's cricket expressed delight over the inclusion of Gaur and Filer in the full-time contract list. She also heaped praise on MacDonald-Gay and mentioned that the development contract would allow her to grow leaps and bounds.
“As ever, we have awarded central contracts to the players we feel will play a significant role for England in the foreseeable future," Connor said in a statement released by ECB.
“We are delighted that Mahika Gaur and Lauren Filer have transitioned on to full contracts, having been part of our group over the past year.
“Ryana MacDonald-Gay has had an outstanding year, and the development contract affords her the opportunity to continue to push her claim for selection. We look forward to working with all three players on development contracts and their Counties to ensure they continue their development.
"We have another significant period of cricket ahead and we believe this group of players have the skills to be successful in all conditions and formats which will be essential as we look forward to a two-year period that includes the Women’s Ashes in early 2025, multiple bilateral series, the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in India, and a home ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the summer of 2026.
"This is another landmark year in terms of increased remuneration for England Women. We have been able to make another significant increase in the value of central contracts on the back of last year’s equalisation of men’s and women’s international match fees across all formats. We continue to work positively with the England Women’s Player Partnership (EWPP) and the PCA and are grateful for both their support and challenge in these matters.”
