TRENT BRIDGE TO HOST TIER ONE WOMEN'S CRICKET

Trent Bridge will continue to serve as the host venue for The Blaze after securing one of eight Tier One teams in the ECB’s new structure for the women’s game, which comes into effect in 2025.

“We’ve seen tremendous growth across all women’s sports in recent years, and this new structure can only accelerate that development in cricket,” said The Blaze’s Director of Women’s Cricket, James Cutt.

“To now have longer-term certainty in relation to our funding – and to therefore be able to transition towards a fully-professional setup – will be invaluable as we seek to grow on and off the field.

“As the current East Midlands Regional Women’s Team, we’ve seen the value of the facilities and resources at our disposal – both at Trent Bridge and across the East Midlands as a whole. There can be no doubt that this has accelerated our professionalism and our development and raised the profile of our players amongst cricket followers.”

Trent Bridge first welcomed Loughborough Lightning to host competitive cricket at the venue in 2019, and has since gone onto host fixtures featuring The Blaze, England Women and Trent Rockets Women.

The Blaze will contest four home matchdays at Trent Bridge this summer – including a T20 double-header alongside Notts Outlaws and a 50-over fixture as part of Notts Street Food Festival’s third event at the venue.

“The Blaze have quickly become a central part of the Trent Bridge family – quite simply, we couldn’t imagine life without them now,” said Nottinghamshire’s Director of Cricket, Mick Newell.

“At the same time, we’ve worked in partnership with our fellow First-Class and National Counties in the East Midlands – both in assisting with facility provision, and in ensuring that opportunities are available for aspiring players from across the region. Continued collaboration with Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire is something that we value extremely highly.

“The potential for the women’s game is vast as the pace of professionalisation increases, and we’re also keen to continue driving growth recreationally, with women’s and girls’ cricket a key part of our strategy as a club and venue.”

For further information in relation to the announcement of Tier One women's teams, see the ECB's media release in full here...