South Asian Cricket Academy will launch its inaugural women’s programme for the 2026 season.

The new scheme is seeking between six and 10 non-professionally contracted British south Asian women aged over 18 for the fully-funded high-performance elite programme, which will run over the next 12 months.

The pilot programme has been set up with support from Take Her Lead, the registered charity founded by former England international and broadcaster Isa Guha.

The charity is dedicated to advancing equality and diversity in cricket and increasing participation for women and girls.

Since its establishment in 2022, SACA has helped 18 male players of a south Asian background secure professional with county clubs.

In the time since it was founded, the percentage of professional players of a south Asian background in the county game has increased from four to 13%, while the number of academy players has expanded from 18 to 26%.

SACA research states there are currently five professional south Asian women’s players at counties (3.3% of all players), with a further five (7.1%) in their academies.

“Having worked in the women’s game as a scout and coach for the past six years I’ve seen first-hand how the game has grown,” said Tom Brown, the founder and manager director of SACA.

“We’re excited that SACA will take on a leading role in helping to develop talented young British Asian female cricketers and helping them achieve their ambitions to break into the professional game.

“We are confident that we can very quickly start to emulate the success our men’s programme has delivered for so many talented cricketers.”

Guha will chair an advisory group of experts experienced in high-performance environments and with a south Asian perspective, which includes England selector Lydia Greenway and former players Abtaha Maqsood and Sonia Odedra.

“The inaugural SACA women’s programme will provide a much-needed focus for south Asian women in cricket,” said Guha.

“Our role is to ensure the environment created makes these women feel like they belong in cricket, taking their background and gender into consideration.

“Our fabulous group of advisors and experts will support their development, while also ensuring this programme is built for success.”