Cricketers in England have decided to do their bit to keep the finances of English cricket secure, with the centrally contracted men donating £500,000 to the ECB and selected charities, while the women volunteered pay cuts for the next three months.
The men’s donation is the equivalent of a 20 per cent pay cut over three months, and has been described as “an initial donation” after talks led by Test captain Joe Root and his limited-overs counterpart Eoin Morgan.
The move from the players is entirely voluntary, and comes even as the Professional Cricketers’ Association continues talks seeking a “game-wide” solution to player wages. At a time when others in the sport in the country were taking pay cuts or being furloughed, the players came in for criticism earlier in the week due to the apparent inaction of the PCA.
Anyone can spread coronavirus. We must all stay home to help save lives.
? Stay home.
? Protect the NHS.
? Save lives.#StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/Ejiq1yYrnb— England and Wales Cricket Board (@ECB_cricket) April 2, 2020
“Following a meeting today of all of the England men’s centrally contracted cricketers, the players have agreed to make an initial donation of £0.5m to the ECB and to selected good causes,” the players said in a statement. “The precise details of the charitable donation will be decided over the next week by the players.
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“This contribution is the equivalent of all of the England centrally contracted players taking a 20% reduction in their monthly retainers for the next three months.
“The players will continue to discuss with the ECB the challenging situation faced by the game, and society as a whole and will consider how best to support the ECB and both the cricketing and wider community going forward.”
Stay at Home. It will save lives ?#StayHomeSaveLives pic.twitter.com/ZOhgKRaTYf
— England and Wales Cricket Board (@ECB_cricket) April 2, 2020
Heather Knight, England women’s captain, spoke on behalf of her squad and the coaches, saying their pay cuts were in line with what their coaches and other staff were taking.
“All the players felt like it was the right response in the current climate to take a pay cut in line with what our support staff are taking,” she said.
“We know how the current situation is affecting the game and we want to help as much as we can. We will be discussing with the ECB further ways we can help the game in the coming weeks.”
