Yorkshire Cut Deeper

BBCSport

Players and staff at Yorkshire have taken a wage cut of up to 20% to help the county recover from the financial implications of coronavirus.

Chief executive Mark Arthur told BBC Radio Leeds that losses for 2020 could be a "significant seven-figure sum".

The proportionate wage reduction across the board at Headingley, with the highest earners taking a larger cut, will take effect from 1 June.

A large number of Yorkshire's staff have been on furlough since 6 April.

"We do not take decisions such as these lightly, but now is the time to take drastic steps," said Arthur.

"The staff and players were consulted earlier this week and their reaction to the news has been magnificent."

Despite posting record annual profits in 2019, the club began the year £18.34m in debt.

No international cricket at Headingley in 2020

Yorkshire, who have won a record 32 County Championship titles, remain one of the best supported sides in the country.

But most of their profits are made by being one of England's most famous homes of international cricket.

In 2019, Headingley hosted four World Cup fixtures, a one-day international against Pakistan and a sensational Ashes Test match during a busy international summer.

Although the club are open to it being used as an England and Wales Cricket Board training venue, Headingley will not be used to stage international cricket this summer.

The start of the English season has been delayed until at least 1 July, but Arthur still has "hope" of playing all three forms of domestic cricket, especially the profitable T20 Blast.

India to trade for new IPL window.

Ben Horne.

Sydney Daily Telegraph.

Wednesday, 13 May 2020.

PTG 3121-15438.

India is set to put the squeeze on Australia to break its traditional domestic rules if it the latter wants to guarantee a game-saving $A300 million (£UK158m) 2020-21 austral summer. India is poised to agree to two additional One Day Internationals (ODI) in January to further boost Cricket Australia’s (CA) coffers on top of the four Tests that are already on the calendar, but it wants its back scratched first.

Anticipation is mounting that the men’s Twenty20 World Cup scheduled for Australia in October-November will be postponed and the timeslot taken over by the all-powerful Indian empire, which is pushing for a mini Indian Premier League (IPL) to recoup some of the $A800m (£UK422m) it lost when the tournament was postponed in April (PTG 3083-15267, 15 April 2020).  If that happens, India would expect top Aussie players including Pat Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell to be made available, Australian and India overnment flight restrictions allowing.

That represents a mighty power play given the proposed October-November IPL would directly clash with the start of the CA’s one-day Cup and Sheffield Shield first class cricket.  As a rule, CA does not permit its stars to play in T20 leagues abroad during its own domestic summer, but the heat would be on CA to bow down given the financial oblivion it might risk by rocking the boat with India and diluting the IPL juggernaut on the eve of such a critical Test series.  The threat may not be explicit, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is well aware of its own power in negotiations.

Australia’s domestic competition would be watered down and red-ball preparation for the Test series against India could be compromised for both teams.  But the BCCI is willing to give plenty in return for these sacrifices.  It’s understood India has all but rejected Australia’s request for a fifth Test but is ready to throw in two extra ODIs for CA which are worth up to $A60m (£UK31.6m) each and would financially benefit both countries even more.

If the T20 World Cup is postponed, Australia’s return from Covid-19 could mean a white-ball international tour to coronavirus-hit England in September, straight to the IPL in October, and then straight into home Tests against Afghanistan and India.  Rescheduling the T20 World Cup to February would create a minefield for international cricket (not least because the women’s 50 over equivalent is scheduled for New Zealand that month), and India has made it clear bilateral series must be the priority to financially save boards smashed by the effects of the pandemic.

“Yes, easily that adds more money to any cricket board”, said BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal.  “If all of us are back to our feet, then only we’ll be able to help each other. It’s very important that all the boards are in a healthy financial position”.

CA is privately supportive of the men’s T20 World Cup moving, not only to appease India but because Australian sports are resolving to work together through the coronavirus crisis.  CA is keen to get out of the National Rugby League and Australian Football League’s way in October (PTG 3061-15160, 25 March 2020), and in return the footy codes would clear the decks for cricket should the World Cup be moved to February.  However, shifting to February is complicated. For a start, Australia is due to tour South Africa and England is due to tour India that month, not to mention the fact there’s another men’s T20 World Cup already scheduled for October 2021.

The Australian T20 World Cup committee insists no decisions have been made by the International Cricket Council, but there’s growing speculation a final call could be made on the fate of the tournament in the coming weeks.  Although the tournament is scheduled to be staged in Australia, CA won’t be severely affected financially by the World Cup not going ahead, certainly not compared to how it would be crippled by India bailing out on a Test summer worth $A300m.