With the COVID-19 Pandemic continues to wreak havoc in the United Kingdom, England all-rounder Chris Woakes on Tuesday (September 15) admitted that the English players may face pay cuts after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a 20 percent reduction in its workforce to deal with the financial impact of the global Coronavirus outbreak.
ECB on Tuesday announced that Tuesday that board has let go off 62 staff members and ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said such measures would have been “unthinkable” seven months ago but the global COVID-19 crisis had had a huge impact on their game.
Notably, the ECB is facing a whopping 100-million pound loss since the coronavirus broke out, and the amount could rise to 200 million pounds if the COVID-19 pandemic affects the 2021 summer.
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With the list of central contracts up for discussion, England all-rounder said he can't say the English players are exempt from the pay cuts given the current financial situation due to COVID-19 while expressing sympathy with those affected by the ECB’s move.
Woakes told reporters: “It's incredibly sad news, really. There are a lot of people behind the scenes at the ECB who work incredibly hard, important cogs in the wheel.”
The pacer further added, “It is a situation where we have to sit down as players and see what happens with regards to these contracts coming up. We’ll know more in the next few weeks. We`ll reassess at that point. At this moment of time, it is hard for me to say ‘we’re going to take X cuts, and there are going to be donations here, left right and center. Until we’ve seen what happens from above we’ll then get more of a feel for it. I certainly wouldn’t rule that out.”
He signed off by saying, “It’s a sad time, and it does resonate with the players, but we’re also very fortunate that cricket has gone ahead this summer amid pandemic because that figure of 200 million pounds could have been a lot worse. I suppose that is the only positive outcome, really.”
(With AFP Inputs)
