A CONSORTIUM including Gloucestershire CCC have won the right to host a side in the first Women's Cricket Super League this summer.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced that a South West consortium consisting of Gloucestershire, Somerset CCC and the University of Exeter is one of the six hosts.

The other five Women’s Cricket Super League hosts are Hampshire, London (based at The Oval), Lancashire, Yorkshire and a Midlands team at Loughborough University.

The announcement follows a rigorous bidding process over the last six months, which saw 28 different organisations express an interest in becoming a Women’s Cricket Super League host.

The Women’s Cricket Super League will start this summer with the South West team competing in a Twenty20 (T20) event against the other five hosts. Thereafter the competition will include both T20 and 50-over formats. All six teams have been awarded hosting rights for a four-year period from 2016-2019 inclusive.

Further details on the format and timing of the Women’s Cricket Super League, along with a confirmed team name and identity for the South West consortium, will be announced in due course.

ECB Director of England Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor, said: “It is great to have a strong South West partnership – with Somerset, Gloucestershire and the University of Exeter – as one of our six Women’s Cricket Super League hosts for the next four years.

"For two rival first class counties and a university with such a renowned sporting reputation to come together and collaborate in this way to help develop the women’s game is an exciting opportunity.

“Our vision for the competition is to create a dynamic and high quality domestic women’s game in England, where the world’s best players come together to drive performance standards and inspire women and girls to love cricket.

Gloucestershire CCC's CEO Will Brown added: “We are absolutely thrilled to have been chosen as a host for the Women’s Cricket Super league and look forward to kicking the league off in style this summer.

"The unique nature of our South West bid brings old rivals together, crosses county boundaries and establishes the South West as a potential powerhouse of Women’s and Girls’ cricket.”