ECB 'to increase Hundred pay for England stars' after Stokes and Bairstow snub

20 January 2023 , 09:33

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The ECB are keen for England's top stars to feature in The Hundred (Image: Gareth Copley - ECB/ECB via Getty Images)

The ECB are reportedly set to offer more money to England's top stars in a bid to ensure they feature in The Hundred, after both Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow pulled out of last year's tournament altogether.

Stokes and Bairstow were set to feature at the start of the competition for Northern Superchargers and Welsh Fire respectively, but opted to have a rest instead ahead of England's three-Test series against South Africa.

As a result of the tournament clashing with England fixtures in its first two editions, organisers have dedicated an exclusive four-week window to The Hundred with the competition due to begin immediately after the final Ashes Test and end a few days before England begin a white-ball series against New Zealand.

And ESPNcricinfo now claim the ECB 'will make additional funds available to incentivise England's leading all-format cricketers to take part in The Hundred in 2023'. The report states the ECB 'hope to ensure that all-format players are available for a significant proportion of the competition'.

It adds that players on all-format central contracts banked around £50,000 for playing three games in last year's tournament, plus an extra £5,000 for any other matches they played.

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However, this year the report claims they will be offered £125,000 to play the full tournament or an equivalent amount if they are only available for part of it. New regulations state each team will sign an all-format centrally contracted player on those terms.

Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes both pulled out of last year's Hundred to focus on England commitments (Ashley Allen - ECB/ECB via Getty Images)

The ECB's move is similar to one made by Cricket Australia last year, who partly subsidised a lucrative deal for David Warner to return to the Big Bash League (BBL) for the first time since 2013 amid concerns he was set to snub the BBL for the new ILT20 tournament in the UAE.

"I care deeply about the game, and I am conscious that the conditions that I enjoy as a professional cricketer have largely come from other senior players who have come before me," Warner said after agreeing to join Sydney Thunder.

"That is how the game is structured and I understand that my contribution to the future of the BBL will hopefully benefit the next generation of players long after I am retired."

Matthew Cooper