England National Cricket Team players are up for the fight with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). As per the reports in the Telegraph, it is learned that 50 players of the team are considering boycotting next year’s Hundred in protest against the board’s decision to not let players play in franchise tournaments.
Since the last few months England and Wales Cricket Board has been quite strict and has conveyed the importance of playing for the nation to the players. They took a strong step last week when they changed their policy regarding “no-objection certificates” (NoC) for players to play in overseas leagues.
ECB won’t give NoCs to players for the leagues that will be colliding with the English summer
The ECB mentioned that players won’t be given NoCs for the leagues that will be colliding with the English summer unless the player is on a white-ball-only deal with their county. This means that no player would be part of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Not only this, England players will also not be allowed to play the tournament which will clash with the schedule of Vitality Blast and the Hundred. This means that players would find it tough to play in Major League Cricket, Canada’s Global T20 League, and the Lanka Premier League, as well as the Caribbean Premier League.
This, however, hasn’t gone well with the players as they have expressed their disappointment. As per the reports, it is learned that almost 50 players were part of the series of meetings with the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) this week. Based the these meetings, PCA will be taking calls to see if they should issue a formal response related to the policy of ECB.
England players have decided not to be part of negotiations around being retained by their teams unless the NoC situation is resolved
The reports also added that some of the English players have had discussions related to playing in Hundred. It is learned that some cricketers have decided that won’t be part of negotiations around being retained by their teams, and then refusing to enter the draft unless the NoC situation is resolved more to their liking.
The reports claimed that among the 40-50 players, a significant number of players have represented England. This could turn out to be a massive headache for the ECB, especially with the stakes in the eight Hundred teams being sold to investors.
Some players have decided to retire from red-ball cricket
A source close to the developments claimed that: “In principle, this is a really strong stance that shows the strength of feeling. The question is if some break ranks because money talks and there could be a domino effect.”
Not only this, the reports claimed that some of the big county players have decided to retire from red-ball action and renegotiate their county contracts if their lucrative contracts in Pakistan are confirmed. It remains to be seen if the ECB will change its stance on the NoCs on the same.
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