The Professional Cricketers’ Association has warned that a move away from year-round county contracts will hasten the rise of white-ball specialists and have a detrimental effect on the main driver of revenue in the English game: the men’s Test team.
As it stands, domestic cricketers enjoy freedom of movement between October and March, with 74 English players featuring in at least one overseas franchise tournament during the most recent northern hemisphere winter. For competitions that take place during the English summer – chiefly the Indian Premier League and the Hundred – the players pay a portion of their earnings back to their county in compensation.
