A group of “50 leading England cricketers” could boycott next year’s Hundred competition to protest the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) overhaul of its NOC policy, which players need to participate in franchise tournaments, according to a report. It was revealed last week that the ECB intended to not issue NOCs for tournaments which have their dates clashing with the English summer, unless the cricketer “is on a white-ball only deal with their county”, reported The Telegraph. “This includes the Pakistan Super League, which moves to a slot concurrent to the Indian Premier League (which is controversially exempt from the policy) in April and May next year,” the report said.
Players are believed to have been denied NOCs for any competitions that coincide with the Vitality Blast or the Hundred.
“Next year, that includes Major League Cricket, Canada’s Global T20 league and the Lanka Premier League, as well as the Caribbean Premier League. The list of leagues clashing with the domestic summer is only likely to grow,” the report said.
ECB’s stance on the matter has forced the players to get into several rounds of discussions with the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) this week, with the players meeting the body’s members on Monday followed by their agents’ meeting with the officials on Wednesday.
While the report claimed “a group of 50 leading English cricketers” are contemplating the boycott of the Hundred, it did not specify if this group includes any of those who are currently on the Test tour of New Zealand.
“It is understood, however, that the players have held early discussions about the possibility of taking a collective stance around next year’s Hundred,” the report said.
“The nascent plan involves refusing to enter negotiations around being retained by their teams, and then refusing to enter the draft unless the NoC situation is resolved more to their liking.
“It is thought that between 40 and 50 players have been involved in discussions around this already, with more hoped to follow. This group includes a significant number of players who have represented England,” it added.
The players’ stance over the matter could also impact ECB’s process of selling stakes in the eight teams of the Hundred and would need the best players to “keep the standard high”, the report added.
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