England’s centrally contracted players are set for significant pay cuts during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

With cricket in England put on pause until at least May 28, centrally contracted players are potentially going to lose around 20 per cent of their annual income. For cross-format regulars who normally earn in the region of £1 million per year, that would mean a loss of income of around £200,000.

An ECB spokesperson said: “We’re looking at everything about how the game can make savings. There is 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.”

As the death toll from the coronavirus epidemic in the UK continues to increase exponentially, the prospect of cricket resuming by the end of May is becoming increasingly unlikely. Just today, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said that the UK is facing a “significant period” of strict measures aiming to combat the spread of the disease while Catherine Calderwood, Scotland’s chief medical officer, told the BBC this morning that “we need at least 13 weeks of some sort of measures in order to really get this virus away from spreading amongst people.”

The first Test of England’s series against West Indies is due to get begin on June 4, less than 10 weeks away from now.