Earlier this week, the ECB confirmed a major change to their NOC policy.

With the exception of the Indian Premier League, English players will not be given NOCs to play in leagues that overlap with the English summer.

The only other current exception to the ruling is that players on white-ball only contracts with their counties will be allowed to participate in competitions that only overlap with the County Championship. In other words, English players will not be given NOCs to compete in leagues that take place at the same time as the T20 Blast or The Hundred.

It is understood, however, that this policy change may prompt a raft of players to renegotiate the terms of the county contracts, effectively making them fully contracted white-ball players with pay-as-you-play terms for first-class cricket. The Professional Cricketers' Association chair Daryl Mitchell told ESPNcricinfo yesterday (November 29) that they are consulting their legal team over the implementation of the new policy.

But just how many leagues and players will the new policy affect?

Pakistan Super League

The competition most affected by the new policy. 2025 will see the PSL's window moved from its usual February-March slot to April and May. This is in part due to the 2025 Champions Trophy being held in Pakistan – at the time of writing, at least – but also due to the PCB's desire to avoid scheduling clashes with other leagues such as the ILT20 and the SA20. The new window, though, clashes with both the IPL and the County Championship.

In 2024, there were 21 English players signed up for the PSL, though many of them already possess white-ball only contracts with their counties so should once more be available in 2025. That said, there were also several players – such as James Vince, Leus du Plooy and Jordan Cox – who are County Championship regulars, who, as it stands, will not be available next year.

Players whose white-ball stocks are rising and would otherwise be likely recipients of PSL deals, such as Dan Mousley, Michael Pepper and Tom Banton, are all contracted across formats with their counties.

Major League Cricket

Jason Roy was the sole English participant in the 2024 MLC, missing a chunk of Surrey's T20 Blast campaign to take part in the competition. As current rules stand, Roy would not be granted an NOC for the 2025 tournament.

Lanka Premier League

Roy's former England opening partner Alex Hales was the other high profile Englishman to miss a portion of 2024 T20 Blast to take part in an overseas tournament. Like Roy, Hales was the sole English representative in a tournament that overlaps with the second half of the T20 Blast.

Caribbean Premier League

The CPL is in a similar boat to the PSL, with one caveat: The tournament takes place from September onwards, clashing with the T20 Blast knockout stages. It's possible players from knocked out teams will be able to play in the CPL, or that players will be able to travel after the Blast concludes, but the exact details of the ECB's rules are not yet clear. In 2024, the ECB collaborated with CWI to ensure that the CPL and the Hundred did not clash, aiding availabilities for both competitions. In 2024, the only English players who featured in the CPL were on white-ball only domestic contracts.

Other competitions

There are a growing number of tournaments that clash with the English summer. The Zim Afro T10 and the MAX60 competition in the Cayman Islands are two that took place in 2024, though neither clashed significantly with either the T20 Blast or The Hundred. The Zim Afro T10 took place at the end of September, while MAX60 started on the day The Hundred ended. The dates for these are not confirmed for 2025, but as things stand, domestic players on white-ball contracts would likely once more be available for both competitions.

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