London, May 30: Leading English players, including captain Andrew Strauss are at loggerheads with the ECB over the new central contract, tabled last October.
While the players are preparing for the Ashes, which is just six months away, eleven players are reportedly unhappy and have refused to sign the central contracts by their Board.
The ECB insists the stand-off will not damage team harmony, but the England Professional Cricketers’ Association has been called in to help resolve the dispute. It is the second consecutive year England’s top cricketers have been expressed their reservations against the contracts that the ECB has offered to them.
As reported by a leading English daily, The Sun, the primary concern for the players is the workload issue, with the resting of stars as part of an ECB rotation policy threatening to cost players large sums in match fees. England players received about 10,280 dollars for a Test match. With match fees bolstering a central contract, England’s top earners, such as Strauss, stand to earn about 770,000 dollars annually.
The earnings are are far less than what their Australian counterparts are making from their Board.
Australian Test skipper Ricky Ponting and his deputy Michael Clarke earn about 1.5 million dollars a year, while off-spinner Nathan Hauritz is believed to have pocketed one million dolars during the 2009-10 season. ECB managing director Hugh Morris admitted the dispute came at the wrong time with the Ashes series approaching.
”Both sides want to get a deal done and we don’t want to be in this situation again,” Morris told the daily.
”The situation is that the players are currently under contract under the terms of last year. ”We’re working in good faith but there are a few points that need ironing out. It’s a high priority.
”The IPL is separate and is not one of the issues. We have got a group of players that are very proud to play for England,” he added.
——-Agencies