England players are set for dramatic pay cuts amidst coronavirus pandemic.
The Times reported on Sunday that England’s cricket players should expect to follow suit along with other sporting bodies in taking significant pay cuts in order to help tackle the financial losses accrued due to the coronavirus crisis.
The country’s cricket governing body (ECB) are trying to get to grips with the crippling disruption and financial strain caused by Covid-19.
According to a Reuters tally, 30,751 people are said to have died at the hands of the virus with more than 662,700 people infected worldwide.
As everyone is now fully aware, this means that global sport has of course come to a standstill.
The ECB had previously announced that no professional cricket would be played until, at the very earliest, the end of May. This of course meant that England’s tour of Sri Lanka had to be cancelled.
English cricket faces further postponement with their home Test series against West Indies and Pakistan among other events running the risk of being cancelled if the current situation does not at all improve.
Postponing events does not come cheap, as global sport is now surely realising.
A spokesperson for the ECB was quoted by The Times as saying: “We’re looking at everything about how the game can make savings.
“There’s a formal process to go through with centrally contracted players but the game needs to pull together at this time. We believe the players realise the bigger picture.”
The ECB are held responsible for paying out salaries for players on central contracts.
The ECB commissioned 10 Test contracts and 12 white-ball contracts which were awarded by the governing body in September last year.
As reported by The Times, players such as Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler – of which all play for England under all three formats – would be encouraged to take pay cuts of up to £200,000 during the three-month shutdown.