England players take 20% pay-cut for three months to fight coronavirus pandemic

When ESPN Cricinfo reported that the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) speaking against the salary cut, ECB chief executive Tom Harrison confirmed, at a press conference, that the ECB would not be asking the players to take a pay cut. However, the players themselves have taken the decision to voluntarily donate a portion of their salaries to charities.

As per a Cricbuzz report, the men's centrally contracted players will donate GBP 500,000 to the ECB and selected good causes which equates to a 20% pay cut for the next three months. While the women's centrally contracted players have also agreed to take a pay cut for April, May and June in line with their coaches and support staff, their amount is not yet reported. 

"All the players felt like it was the right response in the current climate to take a pay cut in line with what our support staff are taking. We know how the current situation is affecting the game and we want to help as much as we can. We will be discussing with the ECB further ways we can help the game in the coming weeks," England women's team skipper Heather Knight said.

While talks are ongoing between the 18 first-class counties and PCA regarding salary cuts for domestic players, the majority of clubs are furloughing their squads under the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme. In the wake of this, PCA released a statement saying, it would keep the discussions going.

“The players will continue to discuss with the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board] the challenging situation faced by the game and society as a whole and will consider how best to support the ECB and both the cricketing and wider community going forward," PCA said.