England cricketers agree pay cut to help ECB combat financial strife caused by coronavirus

England's centrally-contracted male cricketers have agreed to take a 15 per cent reduction in pay over the next year as part of cost-cutting measures brought on by the financial hardship caused by coronavirus.

The England and Wales Cricket Board expects around a £100million deficiency in its accounts because of the restrictions brought on by the pandemic and more losses could follow in 2021.

A number of redundancies have been confirmed by the ECB, which has been in negotiations with the Team England Player Partnership (TEPP) in recent weeks after the announcement of the latest round of retainers for 2020/21.

Bowlers Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes have insisted recently the players are willing to take a pay cut, which the ECB revealed on Friday morning would come from retainers, match fees and win bonuses.

Director of men's cricket Ashley Giles said: "I would like to thank the players and TEPP for their collaboration, which has enabled us to reach this agreement.

"The relationship with our men's players and their representatives (TEPP) is strong, and we need to recognise that our players, led by captains Joe Root and Eoin Morgan, have conducted themselves with great maturity and responsibility throughout this challenging time.

"We now want to build on this agreement and work together on a number of areas relating to player welfare, particularly mental health, which remains a high priority for all of us, as we continue to navigate a path through this pandemic."

The annual contracts were understood to have been worth £650,000 for Test stars and £275,000 for white-ball performers in 2019/20.

Richard Bevan, chairman of the Team England Player Partnership, said: "These are unprecedented times and once again the players have shown that they fully appreciate the important role they play in helping cricket emerge from this pandemic in as strong a position as possible.

"In agreeing to this revised remuneration package, they have shown great responsibility and unity with the wider game.

"TEPP would like to place on record our appreciation to the ECB for their cooperative approach in agreeing a way forward throughout these challenging circumstances."