England batter Dawid Malan shared his thoughts on the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) central contract system for the players, calling it a ‘strange system’ which favors Test players over limited overs cricketers.
This came after Malan, one of the premier white-ball players was dropped from his full contract to an incremental deal in the latest central contract system unveiled by the ECB for the year October 2022-September 2023. The increment contracts recognize players who may feature for England on a less predictable basis.
Malan had a full central contract for the year October 2021-September 2022 but lost his place in the Test side after England's 4-0 defeat in the Ashes in Australia, which meant that he was relegated to an incremental contract.
"It's a slightly strange system. It seems heavily led toward red-ball cricket. Ultimately it puts you in tough situations if you're not contracted because you're losing finances you'd get if you were playing in (franchise) tournaments,” Malan said after hitting 82 off 49 balls in Canberra to help England take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their T20I series against Australia.
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"It seems heavily led towards red-ball cricket when you have players that play one or two formats of the white-ball game. They are decisions that I don't make but ultimately, it puts you in tough situations if you're not contracted and you're losing finances playing in tournaments in the winter."
He has said that he has already spoken to managing director Rob Key about getting improved recognition for limited-overs cricket.
"Hopefully, white-ball cricket can get recognized as Test-match cricket does. You have players here who have been leading wicket-takers for England that don't have a contract, but those are decisions that I don't make. Keysy and I have had that chat already. As players, we'd like to be rewarded for our performances for England,” Malan added.
England begins their World Cup campaign against Afghanistan in Perth on Oct. 22.
(Reuters inputs)
