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
The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy was an English and Welsh women's cricket domestic competition, named after former England captain Rachael Heyhoe Flint, who died in 2017. The Trophy was held from 2020 to 2024, and was the premier women's 50-ov ...
as the highest domestic competition in women's One Day cricket. The competition features the women's
county cricket
Inter-county cricket matches have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales.
Two county championship competitions have existed since the late 19th century at ...
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 Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
and
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. Though it was endorsed by the
England and Wales Cricket Board
The England and Wales Cricket Board, aka ECB, is the Sports governing body, 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 ...
(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 i ...
,
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly 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 Weald, High Weald, whose sand ...
and Middlesex playing at
Mill Hill School
Mill Hill School is a 13–18 co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, Day school, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' ...
, London. The inaugural competition was won by Surrey.
For the 2021 season, it was announced that
Sussex
Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
would be joining the competition. The
South East Stars
South East Stars were a women's cricket team that represented the London & South East region, one of eight regional hubs in English domestic women's cricket. They played their home matches at various grounds, including the County Cricket Ground ...
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). Essex won their first title in 2023, winning all four of their matches. Middlesex won their first title in 2024, winning all of their matches.