Reports | English players reject ECB proposal of having temporary pay cut
Getty
While ECB were sure that the players would comply to a pay-cut due to losses incurred due to COVID-19 pandemic, reports now emerged that players have declined the offer. While ECB can't force the pay-cut, it had hoped players might volunteer one as a 'gesture' in an unprecedented crisis.
The World is suffering one of the worst, if not the worst crisis since the Second World War, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ECB led the way to convince its players to take a substantial cut but now ESPN Cricinfo reported otherwise. As per the report, ECB chief executive Tom Harrison wrote to his counterpart at the Professional Cricketers' Association Tony Irish on March 29 but players have declined the offer to accept a temporary pay cut.
While the ECB can not compel the players, they had hoped that like their Aussie counterparts, the players would volunteer it as a "gesture" in an unprecedented crisis. Harrison, however, now got a less enthusiastic reaction from the players and said that the ECB "are not seeking pay cuts from England players".
"These measures will be far more effective with the support of our professional players and we seek your help and understanding in this. We are rightly proud of the role our England players play in wider society and how they are helping people through these difficult days and across the country we recognise the valuable role that professional cricketers play in support of the cricket family. In unprecedented times like these, it is important for the whole cricket family to show a willingness to be part of the solution," Harrison was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
"Whilst the health of the nation is under threat, the future of our sport depends on every single one of us sharing the load right now. In light of this, I am encouraging the PCA and all professional players to support the recommendations the first-class counties present to you next week, which may very well propose a 20% reduction in salaries for April and May, with a view to revisiting this on a monthly basis until we have navigated through the crisis."
However, the publication further added that the PCA is yet to receive a proposal from the first-class counties, and will wait for that to arrive before considering the wage cut. And it is unsure that how much of direct input players had in the entire conversation between ECB and PCA.
