ECB could 'de-couple' matches in The Hundred

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould says the governing body will consider "de-coupling" some women's and men's matches in The Hundred in the future.

The eight-team franchise tournament, which launched in 2021, has usually featured men's and women's teams playing each other at the same venue on the same day.

However, Gould told ESPNcricinfo that model could potentially change in the future with the aim of increasing financial returns and selling out a women's fixture.

"The double-headers have been working well," Gould said.

"At some point, we would like to try and find a way that we can have standalone fixtures, perhaps, for men and women.

"Getting to a capacity crowd for a women's Hundred fixture at some point in the next couple of years has to be a target for us.

"If you get to the point where you can de-couple games, it's really demonstrating the commercial growth of the women's game, into which we're investing a huge amount at the ECB. That's definitely a potential target."

The 2025 edition of The Hundred will start on 5 August when London Spirit host Oval Invincibles at Lord's in a double header.