What a summer of cricket it's been for the England Women’s team. This year the team sold out the three-match We Got Game ODI Series. Set three consecutive record attendances and have sold over 110,000 tickets in total.

The highest number of tickets ever sold for a women’s series and the first sold-out series in England Women’s history.

Women’s sport has been on the up for the last few years. Especially since the Lionesses showed the men’s team how it's done by winning the Euro’s, and placing in the WC finals this year. But it's finally becoming the same mainstream phenomena that mens sports is.

It’s incredibly important for female sport to be regarded the same way as men’s for multiple reasons. If we go back to basics, we want children of all genders to be able to see players on screen. If you can’t see it you can’t be it, it is vital for children to be able to create hero’s of players that mirror who they are, and potentially who they could be. I am hopeful that we are the last generation that can only remember male athletes that we wanted to be like when we were children.

It also allows all those women and girls who can play a sport at elite level, to make a career out of it, rather than doing it with a full time role on the side. When it becomes a mainstream sport, it also opens up a whole new stream of revenue that brands, partners, the players themselves and sponsors benefit from. 

The grassroots advantage 

From an ECB perspective, this allows continued investment into developing young women and girls at grassroots level to build up fresh talent.

As with all sports, around puberty, young girls tend to drop out of sports. To help challenge this we have been trying to create a strong community of women and girls to really foster girls to continue to play.

Our We Got Game (@WeGotGameOfficial) channel on Instagram posts relatable content, trends, health tips and blogs from viewers. As well as exclusive content from players and behind the scenes content from the England teams. This community, over the last two years, has built up an incredible engaged audience that loves to get involved and share their stories. The players love to show what they have been doing to encourage more and more girls to play and join in.

Playing women at the centre of the work 

From a marketing perspective, we are really aiming to put women at the forefront of our campaigns. We are leveraging the men’s recognisability and credibility to push the women’s team. As well as aiming to develop creative which is bespoke to them and their matches. Our stance has been that we have two premium products and teams to watch, and we aim to show that in all aspects of our marketing output.

To follow-up on the success of this year’s marketing campaign and record-breaking attendances, we are continuing to evolve our strategy to include tactics that have proven to be a success when driving ticket sales for the men’s games. As we continue this journey, I hope we can stop saying ‘the first ever time’, and it just becomes the norm that the women’s team is treated the same as the men's team.

Attending games has been a real personal highlight for me this year. The stadiums have had a real buzz with a whole different and new audience joining us – with a huge increase of female ticket purchasers, making it more diverse and welcoming for everyone around the country. There is genuinely a different feel and energy when compared to a men's game.

This morning, the ECB announced that they are increasing match fees for England Women to bring them in line with England Men’s. Equalising match fees is another huge important step forward. But, we are still on a journey. We need everyone to continue to support the women's teams across the board, because when the stadiums are full, the world is watching. And when the world is watching, we can change the status quo.

This year's season isn’t over yet! England Women are playing Sri Lanka in September in a ground near you. Come along. Feel like picking up a bat and ball? Why not check if there is a cricket club near you, for you, or your kids there are loads of opportunities to get involved? Or join our community on Instagram @WeGotGameOfficial. Systemic, long-term change involves everyone, so what are you waiting for?