81% of the professional cricketers in England and Wales had raised their voices against the workload in a survey conducted by the PCA at the start of the 2024 domestic season
The Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are conflicting over the schedule of the men’s T20 Blast competition for the 2025 season. PCA, a union representing the professional cricketers of England and Wales, has conveyed its concern for the player’s workload, deeming the reduction in back-to-back matchdays for the 2025 Blast season as unsatisfactory.
ECB unveiled the schedule for the 2025 domestic season on Thursday, reducing the number of back-to-back men’s Blast fixtures from 55 in 2024 to 37 in 2025. Neil Snowball, the ECB’s managing director of competitions and major events, said that they have listened to the players and the constrictive criticism from the PCA, by reducing their tally of consecutive fixtures by 33%.
However, the PCA has stated that it is not enough, with a number of significant matches still falling on successive days. “There remains a significant number of fixtures on successive days, which suggests little improvement compared to the 2023 schedule,” a spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo. “There is a lot more work needed to meet player welfare needs.”
The counties like to play their Blast fixtures during the weekend, between Thursday and Sunday, for better ticket sales. But the players have raised their concerns against the model over the last 18 months, citing a risk of injuries and the falling quality of cricket due to heavy workload.
At the start of the domestic season this year, a survey from PCA revealed that 81% of the professional cricketers feared for their physical health due to the workload. That majority also included Joe Root who had said: “I am extremely passionate about county cricket and it is apparent the schedule needs to change to see long-lasting benefits for English cricket.”
The ECB’s revamp of domestic women’s cricket for 2025 will see the eight Tier One women’s teams compete in the Women’s T20 Blast and the other ten Tier Two teams in a second tier. Every county will host at least one men’s and women’s joint-matchday. A total of 52 double-headers to be staged across 20 different venues.
Beth Barrett-Wild, the director of the women’s professional game,called it the beginning of a new era for English cricket, stating: “ “It’s one of the clearest demonstrations to date of our aligned ‘one game’ approach to the delivery of men’s and women’s domestic cricket moving forwards.”
The first women’s Blast Finals Day will take place at The Oval in London on July 27. The men’s Blast knockout stage (seven matches) will continue to take place in September and will clash with England’s T20 series against South Africa. The men’s Finals Day is scheduled for September 13 while the ECB will announce the rest of the schedule on Tuesday. Fixtures for the Hundred will only be announced next year. Meanwhile, there will be no cutdown on matches in the County Championship and the One-Day tournament.
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