Ben Stokes has turned down a three-year ECB central contract. Photo: Getty Images/Alex Davidson
By turning down a multi-year deal, centerpiece Ben Stokes has shown where English cricket's real strength lies, but it's also a reminder of the rift that will never fully heal between the game's biggest player and the 'suits' who rule the game.
Stokes has made it clear that he wants to lead his team in the next Ashes tour in 2025-26, but the England Test captain has turned down a three-year central contract that commits him until the end of this series, a crucial moment for the team. powers of the game.
This leaves a mixed message about Test cricket. Stokes and Brendon McCullum have made Test cricket cool again. Grounds says demand for tickets for next year is off the charts, despite rivals West Indies and Sri Lanka being less attractive than Australia.
But the captain has now turned down a contract that includes the next Ashes, which will be the culmination of the Bazball project. This doesn't mean Stokes will step down as Test captain, but it does show how players these days can have their cake and eat it in a way that previous generations could only dream of.
Stokes accepted this decision. because he believes it is in his best interest to keep his options open with the multi-year franchise deals that will soon be on the table and the rapidly changing cricket landscape.
At some point, Saudi Arabia may go the T20 market and we have seen how it has impacted footballers and golfers. IPL teams now hold the pies all over the world and have made no secret of their desire to sign their best players and release them to play international cricket at their convenience.
Franchise cricket can offer people like Stokes a highly lucrative income stream. Photo: Getty Images/Pankaj Nangia
Stokes also knows that a new memorandum of understanding will be signed between the players and the ECB next year as central contract agreements run parallel to broadcasting agreements. The agreement with Sky runs until 2028, but this is only because an extension to the existing contract from 2025 to 2028 was signed during the Covid-19 pandemic. The memorandum of understanding between the players (as well as the players with the counties) was not renewed; they end next year. One source indicated that this is when the sleeves will be rolled up and there could be a real fist fight between the players and the board.
With the ECB in financial trouble, Stokes may well wonder whether the same amount of money will be left on the table in a year's time. There may be more of them, they may be static, they may be fewer. Stokes is betting on a promotion and then he would be better off signing, especially if he can prove that he too has a huge IPL offer. These multi-year IPL deals aren't quite ready this time around, but will be next year. He will have more leverage.
Jos Buttler also gave up three years to sign two. Sam Curran and Jofra Archer are believed to have done the same. It is those who know the value of their franchise that have the bargaining power and are unwilling to make a full commitment. Joe Root, Mark Wood and Harry Brooke agreed to a three-year deal. They have fewer options.
There is always an issue between Stokes and the ECB that needs to be taken into account. He has never truly forgiven the board and hasn't trusted them since they staged the fight in Bristol in 2017. He felt abandoned by them and laid it bare in his major Amazon documentary last year.
It is believed that several senior England players have also been unhappy with central contract negotiations over the past few months, believing promises made in the summer have not been kept, particularly in relation to increased appearance fees. They were stunned by the announcement of gender pay parity in the women's team, and around the same time they were informed that their match fees would not rise as expected, despite the men's game generating the majority of ECB revenue. What ended up happening instead was an increase in the cost of central contracts. Essentially, the ECB is offering more guarantees and money than before, but Stokes feels he will be able to negotiate better going forward.
Negotiations dragged on for months and extended into England's dismal World Cup campaign. More than a month has passed since the deal was announced. They were placed on the table before England flew to India. Central contracts on this matter have not remained unsigned for a long time. Whether England have been distracted by their contract troubles in India can only be answered by the players and coaches, and such an admission won't come for months, perhaps years, but performances so far have done little to refute that theory. < /p>
Stokes is banking on his body. The ECB are very loyal employers. Archer worked with the central players for four years, despite the fact that he hardly played. Not many franchises would be so accommodating. Stokes put off knee surgery to play in the World Cup and has been very cagey publicly about his plans to deal with a chronic problem that has prevented him from bowling since the Ashes of God Test.
If his body gives up He won't have a three-year England contract to fall back on for the next 12 months. That's why Wood signed the deal. If Wood had been five years younger, he probably would have held off, too.
It's a difficult negotiation for Rob Key, the team's director. He is pragmatic and recognizes that players have more options than in his time. He also knows that multi-year centralized contracts may also be the wrong solution. In the future, it may be better to pay players more appearance fees and allow IPL teams to take the risk of signing them to multi-year contracts. This will indeed be a change of power, but the game must be ready for it.
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