Edinburgh, May 10 (IANS): Cricket Scotland on Wednesday announced the list of men's and women's players who will be awarded a professional contract for 2023-24.

Fourteen men's players have been awarded a professional contract while nine women's cricketers also make the list. This is the first time that women's cricketers in Scotland have been awarded a professional contract following an announcement in November 2022.

The duration of the contracts will be from April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2024. The selection of players for the contracts was made by a panel and the process was conducted in February and March this year.

Men and women cricketers will continue to be awarded equal match fees, a practice which has been in place since 2021.

"We are thrilled to announce this year's contracts, and for women's cricket in Scotland in particular, this really is a landmark moment. I'm absolutely delighted that nine of our best women's players have agreed to be the first to sign with Cricket Scotland," said Toby Bailey, Cricket Scotland's Interim Head of Performance on the contracts, in a media release.

"Given the rapid growth of women's cricket across the world, promotion and investment in the women's game in Scotland is now a cornerstone of the strategy for the organisation, and today's news is a big step on the road to ensuring that cricket in Scotland is fair and inclusive for all," he added.

Men's contracts: Richie Berrington, Matthew Cross, Ally Evans, Chris Greaves, Jack Jarvis, Michael Leask, Chris McBride, Brandon McMullen, George Munsey, Liam Naylor, Safyaan Sharif, Chris Sole, Hamza Tahir, Mark Watt.

Women's contracts: Abbi Aitken-Drummond, Priyanaz Chatterji, Katherine Fraser, Lorna Jack, Ailsa Lister, Megan McColl, Orla Montgomery, Hannah Rainey, Ellen Watson.