For a long time now it has been a matter of when rather than if. In late May 2023 the question of ‘when will an international contract be rejected or cancelled in favour of franchise cricket’ was finally put to bed. Though not a surprise, proven by the countless “I told you so” posts across social media, it’s hard to imagine Jason Roy leaving his central contract to prioritise the new Major League Cricket franchise in the US was anticipated by many.
When the news broke, it sparked many questions. Some new and some which had been asked on an almost daily basis. How did we get here? Where is cricket going? Will this format survive? Will that format thrive? JRoy’s decision had potentially opened crickets Pandora’s Box on a global scale.
The series of events leading to the rise and domination of franchise cricket trace back to a time when Jason was still swinging a size 5 bat for his cricket clubs under 13 side in the early 2000s. Cricket needed a lift and a spark to negate the dwindling interest in the game. That came in the form of an ECB vote to introduce a 20 over format competition at county level. A big hitting format to excite the next generation and offer the every day man or women the chance to watch a game of cricket from start to finish without taking up their entire day. From whatever angle you are looking at the state of cricket in 2023, there is no doubt that the introduction of the Twenty20 Cup in the summer of 2003 was a great decision which benefited the entire cricketing world.
As the format went from strength to strength over the following years, more and more nations would take up the 3 hour version of the game with their own leagues and cups. None would ever claim such significance as the IPL, introduced by the BCCI in 2008. The worlds biggest and most lucrative cricketing franchise league created in a country with a population of over 1 billion and an appetite for cricket like nowhere else. The biggest names from around the globe all wanted a slice of the action and cricket fans could not wait to see what was shaping up to be an all star tournament.
As the years passed, despite the continued quality of the cricket on display and the excitement of the annual auction, more and more questions were raised over the IPL’s influence on the wider game. In particular test cricket and domestic red ball cricket predominantly concerned with scheduling times and the number of franchise leagues forming.
The announcement of The Hundred competition in England amplified all of these concerns at home. The rights and wrongs of The Hundred and its format have been and continue to be heavily debated. For the context of the Jason Roy issue, I will acknowledge it simply as another T20 franchise league. Another month taken from the calendar and with the introduction of the South Africa t20 following shortly after, as well as the upcoming Major League Cricket, the global cricket calendar is now beyond any doubt over subscribed.
Every elite white ball player in the game is going to be presented with the choice of prioritising their national side or their wallet. They can present any argument they see fit but it is about the cash. There’s no affinity between players and these franchises. How could there be? I don’t blame anyone for choosing the latter. It’s a short career with a small window for earning the mega bucks and very little work is required to earn the money on offer from the franchises. However, cricket does not owe anyone a multi-million pound pension pot and an early retirement.
Regardless of mine or anyone else’s view on whether it’s justified or not, I believe that intervention from the ECB is required. Nip it in the bud while we can. I’d propose a permanent ban from ever being eligible for a central contract if a player chooses to participate in a competition which directly clashes with an England series. A very harsh measure but things will only continue to spiral out of control should extreme measures not be introduced. Jason Roy is expendable given his age and recent form but there are many others who England simply can not afford to lose.
Of course there’s the risk that players don’t take the option we’d like and instead they’re happy to sacrifice an international career for a 7 figure annual salary playing in 5 or 6 tournaments. But the reward could be huge, especially should other cricketing boards follow suit. In fact it may even kick the ICC into shape and encourage them to do what they should have done years ago – create a streamlined schedule that gives windows for international series and domestic leagues & tournaments without clash.
Am I confident of this happening? Absolutely not. I’m fully aware that in sport money talks louder than anything and it is certainly the case in cricket. Recent reports have made it clear that the emergence of a Saudi T20 league, which will be “The Worlds Most Lucrative t20 tournament”, will be here before we know it. The question of sports-washing project will once again arise but one thing is guaranteed – They don’t mess around. They have the capital to make the IPL contracts look like pennies and with that amount of money thrown at it, they’ll have their pick of the slot in the calendar and every active player will be desperate to secure a contract.
I always feel after a long discussion about franchise cricket (or even T20 cricket in general) that I need to add a disclaimer. I am not against the format or franchising in general and I enjoy watching as much as anyone. I am simply one of many concerned with the knock on effect to the other side of the game we love. So let’s nip it in the bud and create a schedule that allows a balance between franchise, non-franchise white ball and red ball cricket without any being degraded or destroyed.