Domestic cricketers lost out on £15m during COVID-19 crisis, PCA reveals

A reduction in salaries and prize money, the furlough scheme, and the delay of 40 professional women's contracts helped keep the sport float according to the players' union

• PCA allow summer contracts for 2021
• Professional Cricketers' Trust launch fundraising campaign

Professional cricketers in England are counting the cost from the COVID-19 pandemic which has stripped them of a combined £15 million, the Professional Cricketers' Association has revealed.

A combination of measures had to be taken to helped the sport survive amid a four-month delay to the season, while the resumption has been almost entirely played behind closed doors, but it has left players severely out of pocket.

All-but two first-class counties opted to use the government's job retention furlough scheme, saving clubs £4 million. Additionally, players volunteered to forgo prize money and agreed to a reduction in salaries totaling an additional £3.8m, despite 134 of the 420 male players being out of contract at the end of the 2020 campaign.

While the red-ball season and T20 Blast was delayed until August, the inaugural campaign of The Hundred was postponed by 12 months. Players, therefore, lost out on a combined £7 million. The delay of the introduction of 40 professional women's contracts added another £100,000 to player losses.

^{The Hundred has seen £7m take out of players' pockets}

Currently, 70 pros are facing being released at the end of the current season without a deal for next season. On average, 45 leave the game per year. As previously announced, the PCA have agreed to allow summer contracts for 2021, minimum salaries can be reduced to £24,000 and rookie deals can be extended to incentivize clubs to offer deals for the new season.

"As we enter the final stages of the most challenging summer of our careers, it is important to reflect and appreciate how the game of cricket and players, in particular, have worked together over the course of the last six months to protect current and future careers.

"With 134 men’s county players out of contract when the season was due to begin in April and the game set to welcome 40 new professionals in the women’s game, it meant a large percentage of our playing membership were fearing for their jobs. Despite all of this, players approached the challenge with understanding and the voluntary financial losses for players in 2020 reflect this.

"International and domestic players supported the game through volunteering in the region of £3.8 million. When other losses such as the cancellation of the Hundred, delayed contracts for the new domestic women’s structure and consent to furlough are taken into account, the game has saved in the region of £15 million since April thanks to player support."

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