ECB look to maintain an iron grip on counties.

ECB tackles ‘tapping up’ by first-class clubs.

Elizabeth Ammon.

The Times.

Wednesday, 25 October 2017.

PTG 2288-11567.

The first-class cricket counties have been warned that they could face fines of up to £UK50,000 ($A86,050) if they “tap up” players from other clubs while they are still under contract.  The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) sent a warning letter to the counties after several allegations of players having been approached either by counties or by third parties on their behalf in the past couple of years.

Under the present regulations, players must give 28 days’ notice to their county if they wish to break their contract, unless they are in the final year of that deal, in which case they are free to have discussions with any other party after 10 April of that year. Some counties, particularly ones in Division Two, have become increasingly concerned that their players are being approached about potential moves to bigger clubs, prompting the ECB to send out a warning that they will be enforcing paragraph 7.1 of their player-registration regulations.

That paragraph states: “A county must not approach or be involved in discussions with any cricketer registered with another county or any agent or other person on his behalf with a view to offering him a trial or registering him or employing him in any capacity. A county which failed to comply with this regulation shall be liable to a fine of not less than £20,000 [$A34,420) and not more than £50,000 as determined by a disciplinary panel”.  Counties have also been reminded that tapping up includes informal approaches from other players or officials, even if it is in a social setting.

Meanwhile, the Marylebone Cricket Club and county chief executives on Tuesday received tender documents from the ECB to kick off the bidding process to host leading matches between 2020 and 2024, and to be host venues for the new eight-team city-based Twenty20 competition.  It is expected that all category A (Test match grounds) and category B (One Day International only venues) counties will submit bids to be a host venue for the T20 competition. It is understood that some other counties may also submit a bid, but they are unlikely to be successful because of the size of their grounds.

Competition will be fierce to host international matches because from 2020 onwards there will be a maximum of six Tests in a summer, down from seven. There are eight Test venues in England and Wales, so at least two will miss out on hosting one every year.