PCA reveals damning investigation into player welfare, says travel fatigue leads to 'disaster'

Joe Root says match list is busier than ever after Professional Cricketers' Association research revealed an alarming 81 per cent of county cricketers have physical health concerns He said that putting more emphasis on player welfare during the pandemic was “non-negotiable”. Health status due to workload during the season.

The survey, carried out in pre-season across all 18 counties, found the PCA deemed the current playing schedule “unfit for purpose”, with significant issues around match day travel leading to calls for an urgent rethink. It was branded as such. The ECB and county leaders are trying to “prevent disasters before they happen.”

More than eight in 10 county cricketers admitted they were worried about their health as a result of the busy season, while as many as 76 per cent of players worried about traveling to and from match venues during the season, particularly during the Vitality Blast. revealed safety concerns about When a team finishes late and plays the next day. This year, 55 T20s are scheduled to appear consecutively, up from 34 last year.

Perhaps the most notable example is Gloucestershire, who play a T20 against Glamorgan in Cardiff on June 20th before returning to Bristol the following day to host Somerset. A four-day match against Yorkshire then begins in Scarborough on June 23, with a one-day break.

Teams usually travel by bus, but problems often arise in the early morning hours when players drive themselves home. The PCA revealed last season that it had to intervene after a county was found to be using minibuses driven by players. It is understood the county has stopped that practice.

PCA chief operating officer Darryl Mitchell said: “There has been a significant increase in the number of back-to-back games, but it is only being looked at from a commercial perspective.” “I understand that, but there needs to be a balance.

“More than 10 per cent of our members used mental health services in the last year. It's hard to escape the pressures of the profession, but I think the relentless schedule is a contributing factor.”

“There have been reports of players getting off the team bus, driving home, forgetting how to get there and almost going on autopilot. Switching off while driving carries an element of danger. We want to preemptively prevent something tragic from happening.”

“Our CEO Rob [Lynch] is worried about getting a call in the early hours of the morning when someone drives off the M1. it scares us. His 76% of players have concerns about safety when traveling, which is a high number. ”

In addition to requiring a minimum standard of three days between four-day matches and at least one rest day between T20s, 66% of those surveyed said the current schedule does not allow them to perform well. I don't think so.

This opinion was echoed by Root, who believed the changes would have “long-term benefits for English cricket”. Although Root is kept from England's schedule as a centrally contracted cricketer, he has appeared in five matches for Yorkshire in the County Championship.

“I am lucky to have played a significant part of the season at Yorkshire University this year, but looking at the fixture list in terms of physicality, health and performance makes me nervous,” Root said.

“Country cricket is a breeding ground for some of the best talent in the game and to do that we need world-leading structures that enable players to reach their full potential. It's a benefit for people.”

“Ensuring space to recover, prepare and improve your game during the season is extremely important, and creating minimum standards to protect travel periods and player welfare is non-negotiable. ”

The PCA's findings and call for action come at a pivotal time for English cricket, with the upcoming renewal of the County Partnership Agreement (the agreement binding the ECB, PCA and counties). Counties and the MCC are likely to agree on the ECB's proposals for private investment in The Hundred this week, potentially raising around £500m for the domestic game. This all leads to the next broadcast cycle starting in 2025.

The Hundred remains the elephant in the room as far as equipment crowding, especially blasting. This year's eight-team competition will be ring-fenced for the first three weeks of July and August, with no Blast matches and only three days of Championship cricket scheduled during this period.

Mitchell acknowledged the value of The Hundred and the importance of matchday revenue to clubs at a time of county financial uncertainty, but called on chiefs and other stakeholders to be more collaborative in decision-making. . Moving forward, a more altruistic approach is needed to better protect players, and ultimately the game.

“Constitutionally, the power lies with the county chairman, but from our side we need a really coordinated approach. Our focus is on the safety, physical and mental health of the players. We need the cooperation of the ECB, PCA and counties to make that happen” with a solution.

“We found in the High Performance Review that if you look at the structure with just one lens without using other lenses, it's very difficult to find anything that crosses the line. You have to combine it.”

“It was very easy for the players to come up with a structure that they thought was ideal, but the players are the commercial side of the game, the passionate members that exist in this country, the lifeblood of the county. We also understand the need for our members to be represented.''We need all of these stakeholders to work together to come up with solutions to some of the problems that we have.

In a statement issued in response to the PCA investigation, the ECB said: “As the PCA is aware, the men's domestic schedule is a complex issue. “We are committed to working with our players and working hard to discuss how best to overcome some of the challenges.” ”