England will lose almost total control of their most-prized assets to the Hundred for a month each summer as players like Harry Brook and Jofra Archer earn deals worth more than £400,000.
The financial draw of the tournament and expectations of new owners makes it likely England players will play the entirety of the Hundred, potentially jeopardising their preparation for international cricket.
Advertisement
For example, next summer, the Hundred will finish on August 16, leaving just two days between the final and England’s first Test against Pakistan at Headingley.
The 2026 edition of the Hundred is the first since the influx of private capital following the auction to sell stakes in teams earlier this year.
As a result, ownership has been handed from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to the teams, who are either controlled by a combination of the host county and their investor, or just the investor.
Advertisement
The salary pot for men’s teams is rising to just over £2m and an auction is being introduced. Before then, however, each team is able to retain or directly sign up to four players and a scramble is taking place with some agreements nearing.
Teams can use as much as £950,000 of their season’s budget on these four players. For instance, England’s white-ball captain Brook is understood to be close to agreement on a deal worth upwards of £400,000 per season to play for the IPL-owned Sunrisers Leeds, formerly Northern Superchargers.
Jofra Archer is among as many as eight England players who could sign deals worth £400,000 – Getty Images/Alex Davidson
Archer is expected to stay at Southern Brave, who are owned by Indian conglomerate GMR, the co-owners of Delhi Capitals. His deal is also expected to be worth more than £400,000 per season. Last season top players received salaries of £200,000.
Advertisement
Brydon Carse and the Australia T20 captain Mitchell Marsh are expected to join Brook at Leeds.
Oval Invincibles, who are to be renamed MI London, are eying Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Rashid Khan and Trent Boult as their four pre-signed players, while Jos Buttler and Noor Ahmad are expected to stay with Manchester Originals. Joe Root is likely to remain with Trent Rockets.
Some insiders believe that as many as eight England players could earn more than £400,000 per season in the tournament.
Advertisement
Top central contracts for England players are worth around £1m per year, and are now dished out on a multi-year basis.
This year’s Hundred auction raised £520m, which has been spread through the counties and recreational game to pay off vast debts.
This is a huge power shift in English cricket
b’
‘
The new investment in the Hundred represents a huge power shift in the English game.
Since the turn of the century, England have offered central contracts to their most important cricketers, which provided them with control over their workload, especially in the busy home summer.
Advertisement
Some of that control was lost when players started taking lucrative Indian Premier League contracts in April and May, but England still had final say over whether centrally contracted players went to that tournament. In recent years, the likes of Harry Brook, Ben Stokes and Mark Wood have turned their back on the IPL to prioritise England.
Ben Stokes, the England Test captain, has not played IPL cricket since 2023 – Getty Images/Pankaj Nangia
But now, for a month in the middle of each summer, control of England’s players will go to their Hundred franchises. England will not be able to withdraw players from a certain fixture to keep them fresh for international duty. That can only be agreed between the player and the franchise, who are likely to want value for money, given how much they are spending. ECB officials appear resigned to this loss of control.
Advertisement
Last summer, Nikesh Arora, the CEO of Palo Alto who leads the Tech Titans, London Spirit’s investors, said it was “disappointing” that players like Jamie Smith and Ollie Pope would miss his team’s first game because it came the day after England’s thrilling Test.
Next summer, this is especially relevant and players involved at the sharp end of the tournament would risk injury. England have little scope to withdraw them.
The Hundred will have started just two days after a high-octane ODI series against India has ended, meaning there is little scope for rest and rotation for England’s management.
This summer, England sleep-walked into an ODI against South Africa just two days after the Hundred final, losing by nine wickets having not been able to train as a squad.
Article courtesy of
Source link
