The Women's London Championship (WLC) is an English women's cricket competition. It was created in 2020 following the introduction of the regional Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy as the highest domestic competition in women's One Day cricket. The competition features the women's county cricket teams from the
Home Counties
The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often included ...
.
History
Originally the
Women's County Championship
The Women's County Championship, known since 2014 as the Royal London Women’s One-Day Cup,regionalised 50-over tournament and The Hundred. This decision was not popular with some of the county teams who felt that the new competition had removed their representation in the top flight of women's cricket. The Women's London Championship was created as a county replacement. The first season in 2020 featured the Home Counties of
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
. Though it was endorsed by the
England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is the national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test and County Cricket Board, ...
(ECB), it was viewed as a breakaway tournament due to a negative perception of the ECB's way of administering women's cricket by reducing the number of teams from counties to regions. The counties also engaged in a running competition as a warmup. The matches would be played at county outgrounds such as Kent playing at the
Nevill Ground
The Nevill Ground is a cricket ground at Royal Tunbridge Wells in the English county of Kent. It is owned by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and is used by Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club in the summer months and by Tunbridge Wells Hockey Club in ...
,
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. ...
and Middlesex playing at
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.
History
A committee of Nonconformist ...
, London. The inaugural competition was won by Surrey.
For the 2021 season, it was announced that Sussex would be joining the competition. The South East Stars and Sunrisers regional teams agreed to release their contracted players to represent their counties in the Women's London Championship. Kent won the 2021 tournament, winning three of their four matches, with defending champions Surrey in second place. Surrey regained their title in 2022, winning three of their four matches (with the other match cancelled).