Just a day after Matt Prior talked of England players being frustrated to miss out on the various T20 leagues around the world, the Professional Cricketer’s Association has said that England’s cricketers are ‘substantially underpaid’ and suggested they be compensated for missing out on T20 leagues. It is a stance to be expected; they are a union at the start of contract talks and if they didn’t say their clients should be paid more then they would hardly be doing their job. They may even be correct; I don’t know how much Cricket Australia, for instance, pay their players relative to the ECB.
But that only applies to the actual pay coming from the boards; the notion that the players be compensated for missing out on T20 leagues is ridiculous. There is no way to know on what sort of money, if any, England are missing out; even a cursory glance at the IPL salaries shows that there is no rhyme nor reason to how much the individual players make and it is nonsensical to try to compensate them for that. There is also the fact that England’s players are eligible to play in the IPL and indeed any T20 league that does not conflict with the international schedule. The most notable example is Kevin Pietersen, but there are several England players who have taken part in these events. They are considered less valuable because they have to play for England, but it is hardly an onerous requirement for the players to put the cricket for which they are centrally contracted ahead of foreign domestic events. Apart from anything else, the fact is that the players are compensated for not playing in the T20 leagues; their compensation is the opportunity to play for their countries. I am not so unrealistic as to think that should be their only motivation, but it certainly is enough to be compensation.
The frustrations of the players for missing out on the high-paying T20 leagues is understandable, but unavoidable. As I have pointed out before, there is simply no time for each of the various events to fit in the calendar and international cricket must come first. Just looking at the IPL, the BCCI are unwilling to compromise on the timing of the tournament (or anything else, for that matter) and there is no more room for the ECB to compromise. The England players are already allowed to play in half of the IPL, any more concessions from the ECB would not be compromise but surrender. Such a surrender would damage the ECB and very possibly cut into the players’ real salaries as certainly would negatively affect most or all other facets of the game in England and Wales. There is nothing for the ECB to gain by giving any more ground to the IPL and as disappointing and frustrating as that no doubt is to the players there is simply no getting around it.
The IPL issue is not going to go away, at least not as long as the BCCI remain intransigent and determined to run roughshod over everything which they do not control. But the conflict between the IPL and international schedule is their fault and not the fault of the ECB. If the PCA or individual players are unhappy about that conflict they ought to direct their complaints to the BCCI. As futile as it would be, it would make more sense than to lobby the ECB for an impossible change.
Defensive Indifference 
I cannot understand how every English supporter (starting from armchair critics like you to crapinfo reporters) turn their brains off when it comes to BCCI and are so partial. Even a cursory research of facts seem to be beyond their reach.
First and foremost IPL is a domestic tournament. The situation in IPL can be compared to county cricket 30 years back when all international cricket would virtually come to stop to let their countries players earn a living.
April and May are the holiday season in India when kids are off school. It is also the off season for Indian cricket. There is no other time to play this without destroying the International cricket schedule and losing viewers. It is ECB that is unwilling to compromise. ECB has been bullying small countries like SL, NZ and WI to tour during that time. A look into the FTP should confirm this. All ECB needs to do is move the international season forward and cram them a bit, like every other board does. Traditionalist in England have county cricket to watch and the best England players have an option to earn some money.
What is wrong with surrendering? Still living in the colonial past? Why fight a ego war instead of recognizing the reality.
That is highly debatable. They can probably start their own version of IPL to compete with BCCI. Of course they won’t because they will not be able to exploit the Indian market.
There is nothing to lose as well. They would instead be doing wonders to county cricket since most England players who do not get a IPL contract would be playing county cricket (early start to international season is just something that started recently). International commitments can still be honored by moving the start of the season to coincide with the end of IPL.
A totally senseless statement. BCCI should be replaced with ECB.
Hahaha. Next time you believe you are being paid less by your employer compared to the competitor try to direct your demands to your competitor.
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Yes, the IPL /is/ a domestic tournament and domestic tournaments must never come ahead of international events. I can’t speak for what may or may not have happened in cricket thirty years ago, but I would say the main reason international cricket virtually stops is because it’s the close-season in most of the world. If it is true that county cricket took precedence over internationals then it should not have happened, but given everything else that you’ve written, I am far from sure I believe you.
I am sure that April and May is the optimal time for the BCCI, but the whole point is that they refuse to shift away from this in the way they ask of the other boards. They won’t even shorten the tournament. England, for the reasons I laid out in this article and the one to which I linked, /cannot/ move the international fixtures back. They are already very crammed and there is no room to start them as late as the end of May; some would have to be cut out. Unless India are willing to make some concessions of their own there is no reason for England to keep trying. That is not what compromise is.
And I made very clear what is wrong with surrendering and I made it clear /in the next passage you quote/. I would advise you do a bit of work on your reading comprehension. But to spell the matter out, the lion’s share ECB’s revenue comes from TV deal with Sky Sports. If they were to lose fixtures then the TV deal would not be worth as much as the ECB would lose money. This would thus affect the game in all areas.
And to suggest that England could make their own version of the IPL is to be utterly ignorant of the finances of most T20 leagues. T20 is not nearly as popular in England as it is in India (or almost anywhere else in the world) and there is little chance that a major league would make money. The BBL is the best example; it’s haemorrhaging money after all that Cricket Australia put into it. There’s also the matter of timing; England already can’t compress the fixtures any more, how could they fit in a four week T20 tournament?
There is plenty to lose, I not only wrote, but you quoted. Again, reading comprehension is a great thing.
You are clearly looking at the world through rose-coloured glasses with respect to the BCCI; just look at the DRS or letting their not letting the English or Australian media cover the series in India or throwing a fit about foreign players after they lost the Test series…
It’s not about the pay; as I said (once /again/) the PCA may well have a point, I don’t know the details. This is about the conflict between the IPL and the international season. The BCCI have put the IPL during England’s season and refuse to compromise. This is /their/ fault.
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Yet again an impartial understanding of the issue.
International cricket is designed this way is because it revolved around ECB around 20 years back. That is irrelevant though.
Again you are missing the point. BCCI has not asked for a window for IPL. BCCI has not asked other boards to move anything around. All noise is being made by ECB, its cricketers and its supporters. To a lesser extent West Indies as well. But they are run by a bunch of incompetent fools. April/May was a natural choice because it did not affect a majority of countries.
Let me answer that with your own quote – “If they were to lose fixtures then the TV deal would not be worth as much as the ECB (BCCI) would lose money. This would thus affect the game in all areas.”
Let me explain more from a players point of view. Indian domestic cricket has no following as people are not interested in the longer versions of the game. In a country of a billion people it becomes mandatory for BCCI to use zonal selection. A lot of good players used to miss an opportunity to represent for the country and most importantly earn enough. IPL is a god send gift for them.
Further all profit that BCCI earns is given back to the member boards which in turn invest in infrastructure. There are still around 10 state boards awaiting for full membership from BCCI. While a lot of politics is involved, one reason is membership to these state boards will result in having to give them equal money which the BCCI simply does not have at the moment, unless they decide to reduce money give to member boards. It is also virtually impossible to play international games in every single state of the country (mainly due to accommodation). But since IPL is controlled by BCCI and no permission is required from other countries, the game is being taken to the non-traditional parts of the country.
What concessions has England given? BCCI has agreed to give 10% of player earnings to member boards (even though county/big bash etc have no such rule). BCCI has agreed to ban retired/non-contracted players to play in the league without the member boards no objection certificate. And why should BCCI give any concession on their own?? The league is running to packed houses. It is the English cricketers who are missing to 3rd rate Aussie players.
Yes. Probably you should read my reply. I did not say ECB needs to cut its international fixture. I just said cram it a bit. ECB plays 99 test matches acc. to FTP, while Aus and India play 92 and 90. India would end up playing more matches if Indian govt allows Ind-Pak matches to go ahead. So if India and Aus can play all their matches and still provide their players an opportunity to earn money, I am sure ECB too can. The broadcasting money for India and Aus is also same as ECB (although expenses are less). Broadcasting rights in India and ECB is with Sky/Star sports (owned by Rupert).
T20 is where the money is at the moment. No one can deny that. It may or may not be feasible in the longer run. But players need to be given an opportunity to atleast try to make money. The soln would be to cram the international schedule, let players go to IPL and ask the remaining players to play in County. This way everyone is happy. Players earn money, Indian public get to see the best players in T20, English fans get to see most of their best players playing more county.
No I am not. I never said BCCI is a saint, but all other boards are to be blamed as much. Their treatment of domestic first class matches, the corruption within the board, the treatment of women and disabled cricket….Running IPL is definitely one of the good things they have done for Indian domestic players.
Are you telling me DRS is really ready for International games? Have you been watching Pak vs SA series? It needs more tuning. Int. cricket is not the place to do that. Let me give you an alternative – how about the 3rd umpire intervening if there is howler with any player intervention. No additional money to spend and real time.
Again one sided. BCCI did not ask them not to cover the series, they were asked to provide a fee to use the facilities for live reporting. They were offered VIP access to the reporting section with a condition they would not report live from BCCI’s property. The biggest joke of all this is media organizations like Dailymail, telegraph, sun etc where calling themselves “news” organizations. They should call themselves spin mills.
One sided yet again.
1. All member boards are supposed to get BCCI approval before allowing foreign players. This was not followed in Joe Root’s cases. Last year Shoaib Malik was playing for a Delhi club and BCCI issued a notice to them as well. Players security (especially for Pak players) need to be kept in mind as well.
The recent refusal to allow county players to India was a tit for tat from BCCI. Looks like you did not read the news about how IPL teams were not allowed to play in Netherlands and Ireland by ECB. Both boards are to be blamed here. http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/story/604267.html
Correction, the IPL has been put in India’s off season.
Again you fail to see the full picture. BCCI is not begging ECB to send their players to IPL. It is the other way round. BCCI has nothing to lose from this fight (irrespective of whether you think they are right or wrong) because they are winning this. How long do you think SKY will bankroll games involving 2nd rate visiting teams (since their main players are in IPL)??
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No, international cricket is not designed that way due to the ECB, it /is/ that way because it is winter in the southern hemisphere during the English season.
You keep saying that the ECB should cram the international schedule and yet I have said twice now (this will be the third) that it already is crammed. It /cannot/ be crammed further without dropping fixtures.
With regard to the DRS, the recent problems have been down to the poor job of the third umpire. Your solution has been tried and didn’t work at all. But that’s is beside the point; all the countries except India are willing to use it, but the BCCI continue to block it and refuse to even consider the compromise of putting it down to the home boards. Whether the DRS is useful or not, the BCCI are refusing to work with the rest of cricket and instead demanding that they have it all their own way.
I can’t even hardly make sense of your comment about the media. The foreign broadcasters already bought the rights to cover the matches and the BCCI then demanded they pay more to get into the ground! And that is saying nothing of the photography issue.
I did read that news and it I don’t see how that does anything but support my point. It is a bunch of petty tit-for-tat done simply because they can get away with it.
I do not say that the BCCI should be begging for English players in the IPL, but what I do say is that the English players missing out need to look to the BCCI about the scheduling, not the ECB. And nothing you have said has even vaguely addressed that point.
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