Image Credit- PA Photos
The most significant alteration to England’s
central-contracts system since it was established 23 years ago was caused by a
lucrative offer made by a side that did not exist a year ago.The ECB acted
swiftly when the Dubai Capitals agreed to a £400,000 deal with Mark Wood that
put his participation in a Test tour of India at risk. The team had only played
its first game at the UAE’s ILT20 in January. Changes to England contracts have
been discussed for the past six months in reaction to the players’ ability to
make significantly more money with foreign organisations.
Another important catalyst for action was England’s
white-ball tour of Bangladesh in March, during which a few players declined
call-ups in order to respect their PSL contracts. When Wood signed with
Capitals, who are owned by GMR Group, the co-owners of IPL team Delhi Capitals,
the ECB revised their proposal to boost match and tour payments.
“Originally, we thought that [increasing] match
fees was the way to go,” Rob Key, the ECB’s managing director of men’s
cricket, explained in Bengaluru on Tuesday. “We felt that retainers gave
enough incentive… all the time they had the retainer, players wouldn’t choose
franchise cricket over a central contract.
“And then that changed a little bit when Woody
was offered a big deal out in the UAE to play in the ILT20. Then we thought:
‘Hang on, we might need to think about this and make sure that we can offer
enough incentive for our best players to sign central contracts.’ And we got a
little bit more money put into the pot.”
The ECB believed that tying players to multi-year
central contracts was the best way to prevent the year-round contracts that
would have seen players represent every IPL franchise’s international
affiliates from materialising. Key is unaware of any England players receiving
such offers, but the ECB believes they are soon to come.
Six players received three-year contracts; three of
them, Harry Brook, Joe Root, and Mark Wood, accepted them. Jofra Archer and Jos
Buttler chose two-year contracts, while England Test captain Ben Stokes chose a
one-year deal in a calculated bet that the value of central contracts will rise
when new terms are agreed upon the following year.
Eight more players signed for one year, bringing the
total number of players who committed to at least two years to 18. The
contracts’ values range from a bottom band of about £130,000 to a maximum
bracket of over £800,000. Three additional players signed contracts for
pace-bowling training, which adds to their county wages of over £70,000.
Significantly, every player who was offered a deal
signed on.
Key is also resigned to the further growth of
established franchise leagues – not least Major League Cricket, which clashes
directly with the English summer – and he believes that England have no choice
but to work alongside them.
Key’s hope is that this batch of contracts will ensure
that they continue to do so.