• Communities in Birmingham, Bolton, Derby, Newcastle and Nottingham are next to get new state-of-the-art cricket domes
• £3 million Government investment supports work to expand access to playing cricket
• Announcement comes as England & Wales hosts ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 starting on Friday
More 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.
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 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2019.
And with the event aiming to inspire event more women and girls into the game, the Government has today announced a further £3m injection to open up access to year-round cricket in even more communities.
Five more state-of-the-art domes will now be built in areas currently 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.
The announcement follows the opening last week of the country’s third ECB-funded dome. The latest opened in Willenhall, West Midlands, with two others already open in Bradford and in Darwen, Lancashire.
The domes are part of the ECB’s push to make cricket the most inclusive team sport, opening up the sport to people of all backgrounds by bringing quality facilities to their doorsteps.
The ECB will match the Government’s £3 million injection. Last year the Government also announced £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 Women’s 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.
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 gamer-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.”
