Government boost for local cricket facilities to mark launch of ICC Women's T20 World Cup
Cricket fans old and new will soon be able to play the sport throughout the year, as the Government has marked the start of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup by unveiling five new locations for state-of-the-art all-weather domes.
- Communities in Birmingham, Bolton, Derby, Newcastle and Nottingham to get new state-of-the-art cricket domes
- £3 million investment is latest step in push to break down barriers to playing cricket
- Announcement comes as England & Wales host ICC Women’s T20 World Cup
Cricket fever is set to sweep the nation this summer, with England hosting a major global tournament for the first time since the men’s side famously won the World Cup “by the barest of all margins” in 2019. Just as famously, though, poor weather often stops people enjoying the game and all its physical and social benefits year-round.
To tackle the problem, five state-of-the-art domes will be built in areas lacking high-class all-weather facilities: Bolton, Derby, Newcastle and Nottingham, as well as Birmingham, where England meet Sri Lanka in Friday night’s tournament opener.
All five domes will place an emphasis on continuing the surge in female participation that has seen more than 2,000 new women’s and girls’ teams launch across the country since the start of 2024.
It’s part of a government drive to make the most of cricket’s diverse reach and open up the sport to people of all backgrounds by bringing quality facilities to their doorsteps.
A £3 million funding injection will be matched by the England & Wales Cricket Board and represents a doubling of Government investment in the sport following last year’s £1.5 million to build domes in Luton and Farington. The first of those is due to open later this summer, but ahead of the World Cup, the Government and ECB are already turbocharging the tournament’s legacy.
Sports Minister Stephanie Peacock said:
Cricket has such a brilliant ability to bring people from different backgrounds together. We want people all over the country to be able to enjoy our great summer sport - and not just when the sun is shining.
We’re putting facilities people can be proud of at the heart of their communities and helping to ensure this summer’s Women’s T20 World Cup leaves a lasting impact across the country.
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt said:
World Cups have the power to inspire people to give cricket a go, and having the right facilities in place is crucial to keeping that momentum going.
It’s fantastic to see investment being made in communities so that people can play all year round, whatever the weather. With more and more women and girls getting involved in cricket, opportunities like this can make a real difference in helping them develop their skills and fall in love with the game.
The five new domes are expected to open throughout the 2027 cricket season, giving communities a place to come together, keep fit and play sport recreationally. They will also remove a major barrier on the pathway from grassroots level to the elite for girls and boys inspired by the tournament’s ‘Catch The Spirit’ ethos as they watch the world’s best players this summer.
The Government’s investment is part of its wider £400 million package to build and upgrade grassroots facilities across the UK. While the domes will be cricket-led, all five sites will support a range of sports and activities, helping more local people get active year-round.
The Women’s T20 World Cup is the latest global women’s tournament to be held on these shores, coming hot on the heels of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup and 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championship. That pipeline of major events, which also includes welcoming the Tour de France Femmes Grand Départ for the first time next summer, is part of the Government’s plan to drive a decade of change in women’s sport, hopefully culminating in the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2035.
Alongside this, the Women’s Football Taskforce and Women’s Sport Taskforce are already delivering tangible change, with the latter to meet again during the Women’s T20 World Cup.
ECB chair Richard Thompson said:
Hosting this year’s ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is a huge opportunity to turbocharge the growth of women’s and girls’ cricket, and access to top quality facilities is an important part of that.
We’ve seen from the three all-weather cricket domes which are already open how they can be a game-changer as we strive to make cricket the most inclusive team sport. I’m pleased that with this Government support another five communities will now benefit, and hope that by working together in the years ahead we will be able to open many more.
This World Cup is a moment to celebrate the very best of our sport, and these facilities will help ensure its legacy is felt across the country for years to come, enabling us to accelerate the rollout of cricket domes across England and Wales.