Wealthy contracts worry cricket’s bosses

Press, 4 February 1987, Page 46

Wealthy contracts worry cricket’s bosses

By

ROBERT WOODWARD

of Reuters in London

England’s cricket establishment is seriously concerned by a spate of soccer-style transfers which it fears could wreck the county system and create a gulf between the “haves” and “have-nots” in the game.

Officials have met to discuss the problem which many believe

could destroy the gentlemanly image of English cricket and lead to soaring wages, waning player loyalty and the bankruptcy of some counties. “The system of players moving about has now brought an alarming spiralling of wages with it as counties make their bids. It is extremely seri-

ous,” said Mr Dennis Silk, the chairman of the registrations committee of the Test and County Cricket Board (T.C.C.8.), the English game’s ruling body. The committee, which meets about four times a year, can only make recommendations which would be discussed at a full T.C.C.B. board session in March. “I would dread to see transfer fees introduced. If that happened the financially strong coum ties would become stronger and the weaker counties would become weaker,” Mr Silk said. The winter months, normally a fallow period for English county cricket, have been enlivened by feverish activity surrounding a clutch of top players who became free agents after their contracts came up for renewal. Several counties, better off after concluding huge sponsorship deals, have attempted to lure players away from their present employers with the promise of massive

salaries and lucrative benefits. It was lan Botham who started the rush to board the gravy train, alerting the game’s authorities to the problems big money could cause the carefully regulated world of county cricket.

Botham vowed to leave Somerset, after the club with which he began his career sacked the West Indies test players Viv Richards and Joel Garner.

The England all-roun-der’s contract ran out at the end of December and in the final weeks of 1986 there was feverish be-hind-the-scenes activity by a clutch of counties eager to sign him.

Lancashire, Warwickshire and Derbyshire tried to entice Botham, but the tussle gradually narrowed to a straight fight between Worcestershire and a minor county, Northumberland.

To run-of-the-mill county players, who on average earn £9OOO

($N25,110) a year, the terms Northumberland offered Botham were staggering — a six-figure salary over three years, a house and even a helicopter. Worcestershire eventually secured his signature with an offer estimated at around £lOO,OOO ($NZ279,000) plus a series of undisclosed benefits. Somerset was left to bemoan the player’s lack of loyalty after the county had stuck by him through his recent personal problems, including a ban for admitting taking drugs. Some pointed to the example of the veteran opener, Geoff Boycott, after Yorkshire failed to renew his contract. He rebuffed Derbyshire’s overtures, saying he could not consider playing for another county.. But the younger players dance to a different tune.

They eye enviously the fortunes made by top athletes — amateurs yes-

terday, potential millionaires today — and believe they should be paid more for six months work per year which could be ended at any time by injury or a dissatisfied employer. “Cricket is always a knife-edge career. Cricketers’ experiences reflect society generally. It isn’t easy for anyone to get a job nowadays,” said Worcestershire’s David Smith.

Non-test players’ best chance of financial security comes from their “benefit” year, seen as a reward for a decade’s loyal service to a county. Opener, Graham Gooch, took home a tax-free £150,000 ($N418,500) from his benefit last year. They fill the barren winter months by working on building sites, or in bars or, if lucky, coaching abroad. The less fortunate like Tim Robinson, an England opener last summer, have no option but to

claim the unemployment benefit.

The Australian tycoon, Kerry Packer, when he set up the World Series, was the first to benefit from player dissatisfaction at their meagre rewards for providing entertainment for millions.

The British High Court ruling that an English ban on World Series players competing in first class cricket was a restraint of trade led to looser contracts and has given today’s stars the chance to sell their talents to the highest bidders.

The cut to one from two in the number of top overseas players allowed to play for a county has also increased the attractiveness of the top homegrown players. Kent’s Graham Dilley epitomises the new-style star. A fast bowler whose career was nearly wrecked by a severe back injury, Dilley at 27 is aware he must safeguard his financial future.

His safety net has

been supplied by Worcestershire, an emerging county made rich and adventurous by the hefty cash support of a earphone company. Dilley, a major success on the current tour of Australia, was _ reputely made an offer by the Midlands county of. £lOO,OOO ($NZ279,000) over five years.

The Kent chairman, Martin French-Blake, is not happy with Dilley’s actions. “This whole new development of players changing counties troubles me greatly. Not just because we are losing Dilley, but because of the implications of what is now a transfer system.

Kent are not confident there will be a solution to the transfer problem.

“I do not like to see transfers and I hope there will not be many. But I can’t see how they can be stopped as under present regulations it’s not illegal. Restraint of trade is the major stumbling block to reform,” the Kent secretary, David Dalby, said.