A gaggle of “50 main England cricketers” might boycott subsequent 12 months’s Hundred competitors to protest the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) overhaul of its NOC coverage, which gamers must take part in franchise tournaments, in keeping with a report. It was revealed final week that the ECB meant to not problem NOCs for tournaments which have their dates clashing with the English summer time, until the cricketer “is on a white-ball solely cope with their county”, reported The Telegraph. “This contains the Pakistan Tremendous League, which strikes to a slot concurrent to the Indian Premier League (which is controversially exempt from the coverage) in April and Might subsequent 12 months,” the report mentioned.
Gamers are believed to have been denied NOCs for any competitions that coincide with the Vitality Blast or the Hundred.
“Subsequent 12 months, that features Main League Cricket, Canada’s International T20 league and the Lanka Premier League, in addition to the Caribbean Premier League. The checklist of leagues clashing with the home summer time is barely more likely to develop,” the report mentioned.
ECB’s stance on the matter has pressured the gamers to get into a number of rounds of discussions with the Skilled Cricketers’ Affiliation (PCA) this week, with the gamers assembly the physique’s members on Monday adopted by their brokers’ assembly with the officers on Wednesday.
Whereas the report claimed “a gaggle of fifty main English cricketers” are considering the boycott of the Hundred, it didn’t specify if this group contains any of those that are at present on the Take a look at tour of New Zealand.
“It’s understood, nonetheless, that the gamers have held early discussions about the potential for taking a collective stance round subsequent 12 months’s Hundred,” the report mentioned.
“The nascent plan includes refusing to enter negotiations round being retained by their groups, after which refusing to enter the draft until the NoC scenario is resolved extra to their liking.
“It’s thought that between 40 and 50 gamers have been concerned in discussions round this already, with extra hoped to observe. This group features a vital variety of gamers who’ve represented England,” it added.
The gamers’ stance over the matter might additionally impression ECB’s strategy of promoting stakes within the eight groups of the Hundred and would want the very best gamers to “hold the usual excessive”, the report added.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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