The Professional Cricketers’ Association has called for a reduction in domestic cricket, warning that crowding affects performance and could even lead to “disasters” on the road as tired players bounce from match to match.
Figures released after the league conducted a nationwide study at the start of the season showed that 81 per cent of men’s players expressed concerns about the physical stress and increased risk of injury caused by the schedule, while 62 per cent expressed similar sentiments. Concerns about mental health. Two-thirds of PCA members believe there is too much domestic cricket, with the league calling the schedule “not fit for purpose”.
“There are a lot of players who feel the schedule is not conducive to high-level performance,” former England captain Joe Root said in support of the findings. “If we can make players safer and the quality of play higher, English cricket will win.”
The tension in the T20 Blast appears to be particularly worrying, with the PCA stating that teams will have 55 back-to-back games in 2024, up from 34 last summer. Against this background, there are calls for minimum standards regarding days off, as well as travel and accommodation regulations to ease late-night turnover situations.
One example is Gloucestershire, who host Blast games in Cardiff and Bristol on Thursday and Friday nights in June before making the 270-mile trip to Scarborough for Sunday’s clash with Yorkshire, which kicks off at 11am. A four-day tournament.
“The number of back-to-back games has increased significantly, and just from a business perspective,” PCA chief operating officer Daryl Mitchell said. “We understand that but there needs to be a balance. There have been reports of some players getting off the team bus and driving home and forgetting how they got there, almost on autopilot. We want to be prepared when disaster strikes Preemptively strike before.
“Our CEO, Rob [Lynch] Worry about getting a call in the early hours of the morning as someone drives off the M1. This scares us. [Our research shows] 76% of players are concerned about their safety while traveling.I don’t think drastic cuts are needed [in games] But we need to create some space.
This season, the County First Team will play 78 days of cricket (excluding the white-ball knockout stages), with each team having 14 Championship matches, 14 T20 Blast group matches and eight One-Day Cup matches. (Players miss out on the latter if they play in the Top 100, which has eight group games).
That’s actually down from 2010, for example, when the team played 16 four-day games, 16 Blast group games and 12 Pro40 games. One difference is the arrival of the Hundreds, which has seen the Blasters postpone the school holidays and counties have responded by scheduling more games on Thursday and Friday to attract crowds.
Achieving further cuts will be a problem, especially after moves to cut championship places in 2022 were blocked by county membership. This expression of anxiety from the PCA comes particularly amid negotiations over the next County Partnership Agreement, including the revenue sharing of the next broadcasting agreement.
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Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board is pushing ahead with a plan to privatize the Hundred, a sea change for the sport’s structure but one that could attract a player struggling with rising costs County networks that struggle with costs and are saddled with heavy burdens.
Lured by a potential windfall – with some forecasts saying the process could raise as much as £500m – the 18 tier-one counties and the MCC have until May 10 to agree a “non-binding” deal to Explore this “direction of travel” further.
Under the proposal, the eight host countries will receive a majority stake of 51% of their top 100 teams, which they can retain or sell according to their needs, with the ECB selling the remaining 49%. Proceeds from the latter will be split between the counties and the MCC, with 10% used for entertainment matches.
It is expected that investors, including those from the Indian Premier League, will be able to buy shares from both the selling parties to acquire a majority stake in specific top 100 teams. In turn, they will receive up to 80% of revenue from ticket sales, sponsorships and broadcast deals.
