Southern Vipers to play 50-over competition as ECB continue to ‘professionalise the women’s domestic game’

Flashback - skipper Charlotte Edwards (with trophy) and her Southern Vipers colleagues celebrate winning the inaugural Kia Super League in 2016. Photo by Daniel Smith/Getty Images for ECB.

The competition, like the men’s Bob Willis Trophy, will be regionalised. There will be two groups of four teams with the winners meeting in a final.

‘The staging of this competition reflects the ECB’s commitment to continue the journey to professionalise the domestic game for women,’ said a statement.

The Vipers will represent the South Central region which includes two first class counties - Hampshire and Sussex - as well as Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Isle of Wight and Oxfordshire.

The Vipers announced England cricket legend Charlotte Edwards as their head coach earlier this week.

Edwards had previously occupied the role of Director of Women’s Cricket at Hampshire Cricket since 2018.

She played for England between 1996 and 2016, including 191 ODIs and 95 T20 games.

In 2014 Edwards became only the second woman - after Clare Taylor five years earlier - to be honoured as one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year.

Edwards said: ‘It’s an incredibly exciting time for the women’s game with the introduction of the new Elite Structure Competition.

‘I am looking forward to working with the extremely talented players we have within our region, with our main purpose to develop a successful Southern Vipers culture and future England cricketers.’

Edwards has been involved with the Vipers since the team was formed in 2016, and skippered the side to victory in the inaugural Kia Women’s Super League T20 event the same year.

The ECB last month awarded a regional retainer - worth around £1,000 a month - to 25 players as part of a move to professionalise the women's domestic game.

Three were awarded to Vipers players - Georgia Adams, Tara Norris and Paige Scholfield, who have all played for the Sussex county team.

The ECB had planned to introduce 40 full-time domestic contracts in 2020, but they have been delayed by the pandemic.

The 25 players will move on to one of the 40 new contracts later this year.

Fixtures for the women’s domestic competition will be announced next month.