Sussex have missed out on a place in the new top tier of women’s county cricket.

They are NOT one of the eight counties selected to lead the revamp of the domestic game.

Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire have been chosen as hosts.

Yorkshire and Glamorgan have been told they will be brought into an expanded competition in the third season and both will receive additional funding to help build their pathway.

The news will come as a big blow to Sussex, who have a strong background in the women’s game both in terms of staging matches and producing players.

They were optimistic of being selected as one of the eight top-flight counties and delivered what they felt was a well-received presentation at Lord’s in support of a lengthy written document.

The ECB have outlined plans to further expand to 12 teams by 2029, which would appear to be Sussex’s next window of opportunity.

ECB chief executive Richard Gould said: “I’d like to congratulate those counties who have been successful in their bids.

“I’m also delighted that in light of the support we have seen and the strength of the bids we have considered, we can accelerate our plans, including new top tier professional teams at Glamorgan and Yorkshire by 2027 with a further two being introduced by 2029.

“More professional teams means more women able to make a career out of being a cricketer, more role models to inspire future generations, and more of the country having a women’s professional team to follow nearby.

“I recognise today’s announcement will also be disappointing to those who haven’t been successful at this stage. But with the new three-tier structure we are introducing, there is still a huge opportunity for them to compete in the other tiers so together we can all realise the potential of women’s domestic cricket.”