WOMEN’S cricket begins a new era on Wednesday with the launch of the tier one county game and England’s Tammy Beaumont believes international shirts will be won and lost as the competition heats up.

After a lengthy gestation the inaugural fixtures in the women’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup are at hand, with a fully professional top division of eight teams aligned to first-class counties.

That replaces the old regional structure and has delivered not only a huge uplift in full-time contracts, up to more than 150 from a base of just 40 at the start of the decade, but a commitment to greater off-field resources and support.