Yorkshire CCC players to stay on full pay over winter

County cricketers have agreed to further salary reductions in the next three months as the sport continues to battle the financial impact of coronavirus.

The players – represented by the Professional Cricketers’ Association – had accepted reductions of up to 20 per cent during last summer, helping clubs save valuable funds and safeguard jobs.

Now agreement has been reached for the 18 first-class counties to reduce wages by up to 10 per cent in January and February – and by five per cent in the lead-up to Christmas – with a view to players returning to full pay in March for the business end of pre-season training.

However, Mark Arthur, the Yorkshire chief executive, told The Yorkshire Post that the club would not be reducing player salaries.

“There won’t be any pay cuts for our players this winter,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to them and said that I was very grateful for the help and support that they gave us over the summer with regard to voluntary pay cuts, but we’re in a position whereby with the help of the government’s furlough scheme we’re able to maintain their payments as contracted.

“It’s not my place, of course, to comment on what other counties may or may not be doing; each county has got its own individual problems and its own considerations, and we are 18 different types of businesses.

“At Yorkshire, we’ve been able to get through this very difficult situation relatively unscathed, thanks to a lot of support from a lot of people, including our members and our sponsors, and we’re able to maintain our contractual agreements to all of our players during the winter period.”

Yorkshire’s stance is appreciated by the players, who have begun medical and fitness screening ahead of an impending return to pre-season training.

All players and staff are on flexi-furlough for the rest of the winter, which means that they will work as and when Arthur and the senior management team deem it necessary. The furlough scheme pays up to 80 per cent of an employee’s salary up to £2,500 a month.

“The players are aware of what’s happening at other counties and they’re very grateful for the way that Yorkshire have handled things in the last few months,” said Arthur.

“There’s a great unity and togetherness running right the way through the club.

“All staff, including myself, are now on flexi-furlough until the end of March.

“That makes a big difference at a time when we’ve got very little income coming into the club.”

Yorkshire can at least start to sell international tickets after it was announced that Emerald Headingley will stage the second of three T20 internationals against Pakistan on July 18 and the third of five Tests against India from August 25-29, albeit those fixtures are necessarily provisional.

“We can start selling international tickets on Monday,” said Arthur, the date when the first of five priority windows will open before general sale commences on January 12.

“We would normally have started this process at the beginning of September.

“Usually, at this time of year, we’re selling lots of memberships as well, but many members are quite understandably holding back until they are certain of a) the county fixture list and b) what restrictions there might be on crowds attending.

“I haven’t had sight of a draft fixture list yet, but now that the international dates have been announced – although they are only provisional – then we can fit in the domestic programme, and I dare say that the England and Wales Cricket Board is working on that at this moment in time.”

In addition to discussions concerning winter salary reductions, the PCA had hoped to secure agreement on an overseas player signing amnesty among the first-class counties.

This followed concerns among player representatives that salary savings might be used to fund new imports for 2021, when clubs are permitted two overseas players after Brexit put an end to Kolpak registrations.

Yorkshire say that they will not be putting any money saved towards signing more overseas players, with Duanne Olivier, the South African pace bowler, simply reverting from Kolpak to overseas status as had already been agreed between player and club.

Yorkshire will still press ahead with pre-existing plans to have a second overseas player for the T20 Blast – hopefully the West Indian batsman Nicholas Pooran, who had been due to return this year prior to the pandemic – but there will be no further imports.

“We won’t be spending any more money than we would have done,” said Arthur.

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