PCA warns of 'disaster' if county schedule is not cut

The Professional Cricketers Association has called for a cut in domestic cricket, warning that fixture congestion is compromising performance and could even result in "disaster" on the roads as exhausted players bounce from match to match.

- Ali Martin

Figures released by the union after a country-wide study at the start of the current season show that 81% of men's players have concerns about the physical strain of the schedule and the heightened risk of injury, while 62% expressed similar worries about the impact on mental health. Two-thirds of PCA members believe there is too much domestic cricket, with the union calling the schedule "unfit for purpose".

"There is a large number of players who don't think the schedule is conducive to high-level performance," said Joe Root, the former England captain, speaking in support of the findings. "If we can make the players safer and the output of the games a higher quality, English cricket is going to be winning full stop."

The squeeze on the T20 Blast appears of particular concern, with the PCA noting 55 back-to-back fixtures for teams in 2024, up from 34 last summer. On the back of this comes a call for minimum standards regarding the number of rest days, as well as travel and accommodation provisions to ease late-night turnarounds.