England’s National Cricket Team Agree to Bonus Cuts

Cricketers with England’s National Cricket Team have agreed to slash their bonuses by 15% from October 2020 to November 2021. This follows after the England & Wales Cricket Board saw losses exceeding £100 Million, with those financial burdens expected to sustain themselves throughout 2021. Cricketers have been expected to permit reductions in their salary & bonuses, guarantying to the ECB have finances needed to support tournaments in 2021. Most don’t understand how important this announcement is, with the England & Wales Cricket Board has never slashed bonuses since it was introduced in 2000.

The England National Cricket Team would obtain anywhere from £44,000.00 to £176,000.00 for winning a test series. How those bonus funds were determined was based around the opposition’s ranking in the ECB Five-Tier System. Teams in the lowest tier that are defeated would evoke the £44k bonus valuation, while oppositions beaten in the highest levels enabled bonus payouts of £176k. Cricketers have agreed that the ECB can payout half those funds for test series where the opponent is defeated. This means the lowest bonus funds now are £22k, with the highest being £88k.

ECB Women’s Division Take Bonus Cuts

The England & Wales Cricket Board didn’t request that the male division exclusively take bonus cuts. The ECB female division was also asked to make similar cuts. Whenever England’s Women’s Cricket Team won their test series, bonus prizes of £30k to £60k were awarded depending on the division ranking of their opposition. Those valuations are now slashed by 50% at £15k to £30k.

The England & Wales Cricket Board have actively avoided discussing bonus reductions with the female division. Their request to the female division came weeks after their male counterparts made a £500,000.00 donation on behalf of the ECB. Those funds could’ve been saved to sustain bonus salaries for the 2021 season. It shows the stark reality of how professional cricket is more about maintaining an image than playing the sport, an active complaint associated with middle-class supporters. It should be mentioned that depending on how long the COVID-19 Pandemic is sustained internationally; bonus salaries could continue being reduced into 2022.