England could fight back against T20 cash by doubling fees for internationals

England could fight back against T20 cash by doubling or even tripling fees for non-contracted players to entice them to snub franchise offers for internationals

  • England could offer players double or triple match fees for internationals 
  • Players can currently earn roughly £10k more for appearing in T20 squads 
  • The changes could provide long-term security and allow players to be selective

England are considering doubling and even tripling match fees for non-contracted players to ensure representing the country remains an attractive proposition in the franchise-dominated era.

Things came to a head in the first two months of this year, when Alex Hales and Sam Billings turned down invitations to feature in limited-overs international assignments in South Africa and Bangladesh to honour significantly more lucrative deals on the Twenty20 circuit.

Those not centrally-contracted currently receive a £5,000 payment for each one-day international and £3,000 for each T20 appearance.

This is in addition to a tour fee which is calculated by multiplying the number of international fixtures scheduled by the relevant fees and then adding a further 20 per cent. 

A place on the three-match ODI tour of South Africa was therefore worth £18,000 before appearance money and win bonuses were applied, while those who featured in both 50-over and T20 squads in Bangladesh were handed a flat fee of £28,800.

England want to increase international fees to give players like Harry Brook more security 

Players can currently earn much more money by playing in the T20 or 50-over squads

Players can currently earn much more money by playing in the T20 or 50-over squads 

Those figures were dwarfed by the six-figure salaries paid out for similar-length stints at the SA20 and Pakistan Super League, highlighting the challenge for the ECB and other boards under pressure from cash-rich 20-over leagues going forward. 

It is proposed that match fees will be increased to £10,000 for one-day and T20 internationals alike.

England’s white-ball teams do not play again until September, by which time it is hoped a future financial framework will have been drawn up that will potentially include the ECB offering multi-year deals to their centrally-contracted cricketers.

They believe such a commitment will provide long-term security to players such as rising star Harry Brook and allow them to be more selective about where and when they step into the franchise world. 

The subject of remuneration is understood to have featured heavily in talks between players and Rob Lynch, the head of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, at the end of the three-week tour of Bangladesh earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Cameron Bancroft has become the latest Australian to sign for an English county ahead of this summer’s Ashes.

The 30-year-old will play for Somerset at the start of the County Championship season.

Cameron Bancroft has become the latest Australian to sign for an English county with a move to Somerset ahead of the Ashes

Cameron Bancroft has become the latest Australian to sign for an English county with a move to Somerset ahead of the Ashes 

He is in line for a Test recall following an outstanding Sheffield Shield season for Western Australia in which he struck four hundreds, twice as many as any rival, among 906 runs that placed him 250 ahead of the field.

He previously signed for Somerset in 2018 but did not make it on to the field as the deal was scuppered by his nine-month ban for involvement in Australia’s ball-tampering scandal. He joined Durham once the ban had expired.

Steve Smith (Sussex), Marnus Labuschagne (Glamorgan) and Peter Handscomb (Leicestershire) have already committed to periods of acclimatising to English conditions ahead of an attempt to win a first away Ashes in 22 years.

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