The England and Wales Cricket Board and The Hundred male players have agreed on applying a 20% salary on the salaries for the 2021 edition to overcome the economic impact of the COVID-10 pandemic.
The ECB has also agreed to pay the 11.5% of the committed salaries for this year after the novel coronavirus forced the cancellation of the inaugural season of the ambitious league. ECB and the Professional Cricketers’ Association have reached the agreement following negotiations.
The women players will not be affected as the 100-balls-a-side professional competition will kick start next year.
The salary cut in men’s competition for next year applies to the price brackets from £30,000 to 125,000. The governing body, however, decided not to cut the salary of the women cricketers for next year which ranges from £3,600 to £15,000.
“It has been important to us not to see cuts to women’s player salaries, and these remain unaltered for 2021,” the spokesperson said.
The inaugural edition that was planned from July 17 and August 15 this year has been deferred to 2021.
“We have been working closely with the PCA to agree player contract terms to cover this season and next,” BBC has quoted an ECB spokesperson as saying. “The men’s players have agreed to a 20% reduction in 2021 salary bands and we are grateful and heartened by their support of the competition as our sport looks to mitigate the financial impact of Covid-19,” said the spokesperson.
The requirement of a new draft ahead of the next season will be determined by the factors like how much domestic white-ball cricket is played in the UK this summer, the allocation of England central contracts, the availability of overseas players and if Kolpak players remain in the English game into 2021.