County cricketers and overseas stars with Hundred contracts will receive appearance fees that could be worth more than £10,000 this summer despite the launch of the new tournament being postponed for 12 months.
Sportsmail has learned that, under the terms of contracts signed following last year’s draft, all players are entitled to 12.5 per cent of their deals even if the competition does not take place.
The ECB are expected to confirm the postponement of the inaugural Hundred until 2021 at a board meeting later on Thursday, but will honour players’ contracts.
Australians Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc and Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan were among the top draft picks on £125,000, and England one-day batsman Tom Banton collected a contract worth £100,000. Many county players will also receive a percentage of deals that started at £25,000.
Writing off this year’s Hundred will cost the ECB more than the £10million already spent on player salaries, marketing and production.
This is in addition to the £23.4m the ECB are committed to paying to the 18 counties — £1.3m each — which they are expected to honour. Meanwhile the ECB are facing calls to rethink their controversial new Hundred competition after they were advised to delay its launch by 12 months. There are growing concerns that the new franchise-based tournament is unaffordable — with annual running costs of £35.2million and players earning £125,000 for four weeks' work — given the challenges facing cricket amid the coronavirus pandemic. New ECB chairman Ian Watmore is understood to appreciate the need for a review of the Hundred — which could lead to radical changes to the competition's size and format, and the teams involved.
During informal talks with the counties, Watmore has indicated his desire to bring a more consensual approach than that of Colin Graves, his predecessor.
The former FA chief executive's appointment is due to be ratified next month, although is no longer guaranteed following this week's revelations in Sportsmail that he was the subject of a whistleblowing investigation that found against him last year in his previous role in sport at the EFL.
Watmore is understood to retain the backing of many counties due to the positive impression he has made during their early discussions and the need for stability during this turbulent period. One county chief executive told Sportsmail: 'The new chairman will ask questions about the Hundred. The numbers would suggest the need for a review based on the new reality. The competition can't carry on as if it's business as usual.' Discussions are already taking place about what a relaunched Hundred competition may look like next year. A number of ideas put forward to cut costs — while still satisfying broadcasters Sky Sports and the BBC — include abandoning the draft system and using county players based at the eight venues plus three overseas stars; expanding the competition to include all 18 counties competing in two divisions; dumping the format entirely and reverting to the Twenty20 Blast.
Sky Sports will have a crucial role in the discussions as they are paying £36.5m a year to bankroll the competition as part of their £1.1billion TV contract, a deal which provides the majority of the Hundred's projected revenue.
Sky are understood to have been supportive of the ECB throughout the coronavirus crisis and, as Sportsmail revealed this month, gave their blessing to the decision to postpone the Hundred.
– Daily Mail
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