Cricket Australia announces paid maternity leave for Women's cricketers

In a groundbreaking move for Women's cricket, Cricket Australia (CA) have announced a parental leave policy for female cricketers up to 12 months to help them through pregnancy, adoption and their reintegration back into the team. The policy provides 12 months of paid leave to cricketers who either give birth to (or) adopt a child. 

The policy also states that a player whose partner is pregnant or adopting a child will be entitled to three weeks of paid leave. In addition to this, players who are primary carers will be provided with travel support - including flights - accommodation and other applicable travel expenses for the child, while a carer will also be available until the child turns four years of age.

"The policy is a game-changer for players planning for the future while providing job security," said Alyssa Healy, reported Cricbuzz.

"With the playing and travel demands on cricketers, I'm pleased this policy provides support to players, so if they choose to, can both care for their child and participate in the game," Healy added.

Drew Ginn, the Executive General Manager of High Performance at Cricket Australia, explained why the policy was developed and expressed his pleasure over Australia continuing to be proactive and progressive in taking the game forward. 

"High performance sport is anything but a normal work environment and our policies for our players need to reflect this. The job is physical, the hours irregular and 100 per cent commitment is expected at all times. This is why we've developed such a tailored policy taking into consideration all player and key stakeholder feedback," Ginn explained.

"Like Alyssa, I'm proud to stand alongside this policy as yet another example of how Australian Cricket continues to lead the way," he signed off.