Cricket 2022: The shock pay gap between Australia’s men’s and women’s stars revealed

The playing contracts for some of Australia’s elite female cricketers are worth just 10 per cent of their male counterparts. See the full sobering details here.

Australia’s all conquering women’s cricketers make as little as 10% the amount their male counterparts make. Picture: Getty Images

The playing contracts for Australian cricket superstars Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy are worth just 10 per cent of their male counterparts in a sobering reminder of how far there is to go for equity in sport.

News Corp can reveal the stunning pay disparity where Pat Cummins takes home $1.8 million as the top ranked men’s cricketer, compared to the biggest names of Australia’s all-conquering women’s team who are paid under $150,000 to play for their country.

In fact, Cummins’ $200,000 captaincy bonus alone is worth more than any playing contract for a female representing Australia, and even the No.20, lowest ranked national men’s contracted player on $316,000 is earning double that of the top women.

Australia’s all conquering women’s cricketers are worth just 10 per cent of their male counterparts Picture: Getty Images

No one is saying Cricket Australia hasn’t done an outstanding job advancing women’s pay and it was only a fortnight ago News Corp highlighted the fact that at a domestic level, cricket outstrips every other female sport in the country.

But when it comes to the Australian women’s cricket team, the gap is chastening given we are talking about one of the most dominant outfits in world sport and arguably Australia’s most popular sporting team.

The likes of Lanning, Perry and Healy are genuine superstars of Australian sport who are household names, recognisable faces and as highly sought after by commercial sponsors as any male cricketer.

Alyssa Healy is a household name in cricket yet only receives a fraction of the salaries of her male couterparts. Picture: Getty Images

Their playing contracts must at least double at next year’s new MOU pay deal.

Australian Cricketers Association boss Todd Greenberg admits the game would risk “eroding public goodwill” if it doesn’t continue to boost the wages of its world champions.

Australian cricket deserves great credit overall, but when domestic players are earning an average of $86,456 and Australian internationals who have created sporting history are being paid less than $150,000, the jump from state level to representing your country doesn’t seem significant enough.

Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley acknowledges the issue and declared the game is determined to address the disparity.

“Whilst we are extremely proud of the progress in both playing opportunities and earning potential of our elite women cricketers, there is much more to do,” Hockley told News Corp.

“Our investment has helped in WBBL becoming the world’s leading female domestic cricket competition, incredible success by our national team, a record breaking ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020 and expansion of our 50-over WNCL competition. We remain laser focussed on accelerating the momentum and increasing opportunities and earnings for our female players.”

It needs to be pointed out that the $150,000 figure doesn’t represent total earnings, and the top women’s players earn healthy additional six figure sums from Cricket Australia marketing contracts, plus their WBBL deals as well.

But … so do the men.

For example, Cummins’ $1.8 million salary does not include his captaincy bonus or marketing contract.

Australia's men’s captain Pat Cummins makes $1.8 million from his playing contract alone. Picture: AFP

So Lanning, Perry and Healy might end up around the $300,000-$500,000 mark with marketing bonuses added in, but the point here is the disparity in playing contracts.

That’s where the pay gap is exposed, and lower ranked Australian women’s players not featuring in all the big ads for Commonwealth Bank and KFC are the most affected.

It’s great that Lanning, Perry and Healy can be boosted up by marketing deals, but if anything, that only reinforces they deserve more from their playing contracts because it proves they’re women in high demand for their outstanding sporting feats.

“The work doesn’t stop – if anything, we push harder,” said Greenberg.

“With the support of our women cricketers, the ACA has developed a long-term strategy to ensure the game continues to close the gap in pay, support and the opportunity to play.

“We need to ensure women’s cricket is the most played, watched and admired women’s sport in the country. To not do this is to fail Australian cricket, which has relied so heavily on the rise of the women’s game in recent years.

“It will erode the public goodwill built off the back of the women’s game, while also missing the massive opportunity that exists to translate momentum into further growth.”

This is an Australian team that already hold both World Cup trophies and the Ashes, and have driven the standard of international women’s cricket to another level.

Doubling the central playing contracts for Australian women at next year’s new MOU pay deal shouldn’t be hard to achieve when it’s understood there’s upwards of $60 million in extra revenue left over from the last MOU period.

Yes, this is money that is directed into players’ retirement funds and other areas, but even finding $2 million would be enough to double the wages of Australia’s women’s champions who may well add Commonwealth Games gold to their bulging trophy cabinet in the coming months.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 20: Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry may well add Commonwealth Games gold to their bulging trophy cabinet in the coming months. Picture: Getty Images

Strong TV ratings and commercial interest from major sponsors like Commonwealth Bank, who only want to be associated with women’s cricket, are direct reflections of the team’s success and popularity – and the fact Cricket Australia has invested so much.

Unfortunately, that’s proving a double edged sword.

The Australian team is lightyears ahead of every other country.

It’s an inescapable fact Australia’s women don’t play anywhere near as much cricket as the men and their cause isn’t helped by the bumbling International Cricket Council, whose Chairman Greg Barclay said on Friday night that “I can’t see women’s Test cricket evolving at any particular speed at all … don’t see it being part of the landscape.”

“Despite the best endeavours from Cricket Australia, this summer our Australian men play 22 white ball games and five Tests before our women play a game on home soil,” Greenberg said.

“Our women cricketers have been part of the same MOU as our men for five years now … but disparities between the treatment of the women’s and men’s team remain.”

Administrators deserve credit for prescribing dedicated windows of no international cricket so women can contest the major T20 franchise competitions the WBBL, the England Hundred and soon, the women’s IPL in India and maximise their earning potential with overseas freelance dollars.

Australia’s women’s players are grateful they’re part of a pioneering generation which allows them to be well-paid full-time professionals.

Make no mistake, no women’s player expects equal pay to the men and understand the commercial realities which dictate why the top males earn close to $2 million.

But the current pay gap isn’t good enough.

Originally published as Cricket 2022: The shock pay gap between Australia’s men’s and women’s stars revealed