Integration completed in Australian cricket

Australian women's cricket is now permanently under the umbrella of the Australian Cricket Board.

The integration of men's and women's cricket was announced today and follows that which has already been achieved in New Zealand and England,.

A two-year trial period preceded the move but at a special general meeting of the Women's Cricket Association (WCA) on June 20, the integration was unanimously supported.

The announcement is not coincidental as it will come into effect on Tuesday, the same day as the ACB becomes Cricket Australia.

The integration will give women's cricket guaranteed security and strength for the future.

ACB chief executive James Sutherland said the decision to officially unite men's and women's cricket under one umbrella was a major step forward for the game.

"As we identified several years ago, having two separate organisations performing similar roles in trying to build and strengthen the game was actually working against cricket," Sutherland said.

"The ACB and WCA agreed in 2001 to establish a trial integration period to make sure we could achieve more efficient operations and improve the overall health of the game. Female participation in cricket is growing rapidly and we recognise the importance and challenge of building the game further for this group."

Initiatives like the CricHit program for girls, the inclusion of a women's clinic at the Imparja Cup and the women's cricket leadership forum in Darwin last week highlight some achievements that have resulted from the integration.

"There are numerous advantages to working as one unit for the benefit of cricket and we are entirely committed to consolidating our work efforts toward the common goal of attracting, retaining and supporting these players," he said.

Under the trial association period, women's cricket has benefited from increased access to funding for matches and events, resources for development purposes and access to ACB support systems.

Australian women's captain Belinda Clark said the trial integration showed what could be achieved by joining operations.

"Over the past two years, women's cricket has further advanced and moved closer to realising its growth potential with greater resources and funding in place at all levels. At the elite end, it has allowed us to capitalise on playing opportunities. We have been able to access resources and support and earlier this year it helped us stage a Test series at home for the first time in seven years," she said.

Other benefits of the permanent integration will ensure greater certainty in developing elite competition for senior and youth levels, access through a women's cricket reference group to address strategic issues, links to the ACB's centres of excellence and resources to review and research lower levels of cricket for women.

There will be more obvious alignment between men and women player uniforms. They will share a logo with a colour ribbon beneath the coat of arms differentiating, red for men and yellow for women.

A new baggy green cap will be created for the women to match the men's cap.

As part of the integration, the WCA will be dissolved while the Women's Cricket Advisory Committee will be abolished while WCA assets frozen during the trial period will rollover to the ACB. Immediate effects of the permanent integration include:

Sutherland paid tribute to the many people who have played a role in the administration of women's cricket over many decades.

"As we strive to strengthen women's cricket in Australia, we acknowledge the previous work, dedication and service by the many contributors to our game. I also congratulate Ms Quentin Bryce for her leadership in driving the integration process over the past few years."

Ms Bryce AC, was the president of the WCA and chairperson of the WCAC. She completes her long association with women's cricket administration and begins her new role as Queensland Governor after being appointed to the position earlier this year.

There are more than 200,000 schoolgirls who participate in MILO Cricket development programs and 50,000 females playing club cricket across Australia.