Players warned not to sign IPL-style Hundred deals in standoff with owners
The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) has advised players not to sign Hundred contracts for next season amid a dispute with the new franchise owners over their terms.In a supplementary process to the new IPL-style auction that will take place next year, Hundred teams are permitted to make four direct signings, including one from their existing squad and three others, either overseas players or a player with an England central contract.The direct-signing window opened last week, but the players’ union is understood to have told its members to hold off signing because of a standoff over the new multiyear contracts.The Guardian has learned that the new franchise owners – four of whom also own Indian Premier League teams – have included a unilateral 12-month release clause in the three-year deals they are offering to direct signings, which the PCA is contesting.Such contracts would offer no security to the players, as well as keeping them on the same salary for three years even if they enjoyed a stellar first season.
Such three-year deals with a 12-month release option are standard practice in India, where there is no players’ association.The Board of Control for Cricket in India recognised the Indian Cricketers’ Association six years ago, but membership is restricted to former players.Current players have no representation.The PCA has been shown draft versions of the players’ contracts, but has yet to sign them off and is understood to be pushing back against the release clause, leading to delays in players signing.There are concerns at the PCA about players losing out either through being effectively dismissed 12 months into a three‑year deal or being retained on terms below their market value.
Jos Buttler found himself in the latter situation at the start of his career in the IPL, being held for three years by Mumbai Indians on the relatively modest salary of £385,000 following his international breakthrough.The Hundred owners had hoped to reach an agreement on player contracts before the new salary bands were announced last month, with each franchise’s overall budget increasing to £2.05m in the men’s competition and £880,000 in the women’s, but that has not been possible.The standoff has already led to some signings being delayed, with players refusing to sign.Sign up to The SpinSubscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s actionafter newsletter promotionNegotiations are continuing between the franchises and the PCA to resolve the situation.
One possible compromise would be the inclusion of performance-based pay escalators in contracts as a trade-off for accepting release clauses.The direct-signing window is due to close at the end of January before the first Hundred auction next March, which will replace the old draft system.The PCA declined to comment.
Tuilagi could face England with Samoa while Marchant return is boon for Borthwick
Manu Tuilagi has refused to rule out playing for Samoa at the 2027 Rugby World Cup, leaving open the possibility of him facing Steve Borthwick’s England in Australia.The 34-year-old, who spearheaded the Red Rose midfield for more than a decade, would qualify for the Pacific Island nation in 2027 under eligibility rules introduced four years ago.Borthwick, who has overseen 11 straight wins, has been boosted by news that Joe Marchant will join Sale from Stade Français next season. The 29-year-old former Harlequin has 26 England caps and has signed a long-term deal from 2026-27 and will now be eligible again for international duty.At the launch of the 2025-26 Champions Cup, Tuilagi was asked about potential involvement in the World Cup after Samoa emerged victorious from the qualifying tournament in Dubai earlier this month
Racing celebrates ‘Axe the Tax’ Budget campaign victory after Reeves spares sport
Charles Allen, the chair of the British Horseracing Authority, paid tribute on Wednesday to “everyone who has played their part across the sport” after the budget announcement by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, that the rate of duty for betting on horse racing will remain unchanged at 15%.Confirmation that racing would be exempt from tax hikes on online casino gaming as well as betting on football and other sports follows a seven-month campaign under the slogan “Axe The Racing Tax”. It was initially launched in response to a Treasury proposal to “harmonise” the duty paid on betting and gaming at a single rate.Instead, the chancellor opted for a new regime on gambling duty with a focus on online games of chance, which are associated with significantly higher rates of gambling-related harm than single-event betting. Remote Gaming Duty (RGD), the tax paid on profits from online slots and casino games, will almost double, from 21% to 40%
Commonwealth Games hosts Ahmedabad vow not to repeat Delhi 2010 farce
Ahmedabad has vowed not to make the same mistakes as Delhi in 2010 and to “lay the foundations for the next 100 years” after being confirmed as the host of the 2030 Commonwealth Games.Organisers said that 15 to 17 sports would feature in 2030 – up from the 10 that will feature in Glasgow next summer – including athletics, swimming, table tennis, bowls and netball. Twenty20 cricket and triathlon are on a provisional list, with the process to determine the final list of sports starting next month.The Indian city has been selected ahead of a rival bid from Abuja in Nigeria and was given final approval at Commonwealth Sport’s general assembly in Glasgow on Wednesday .With India heavily targeting the 2036 Summer Olympics, organisers were keen to stress the Commonwealth Games in the state of Gujarat would prove they could organise a large multi-sport event without any hiccups
Field of Dreams-like shrine to cricket built ‘from bud to bat’ – photo essay
Ian Tinetti watches the wind in his willows as Newstead’s opening batters prepare to take on Hepburn in the hamlet of Shepherds Flat. His self-made cricket ground is about the only thing that is flat in Victoria’s Central Highlands and, on a chilly November afternoon, the adjacent grove of English Willow makes it feel even more like the Yorkshire Dales.Visiting this Field of Dreams-like shrine to the game is like uncovering the interconnected layers of a Russian doll – bat making, the Hepburn area’s Swiss-Italian heritage, the history of Victorian cricket and Australian rules football, and also, appropriately, doll collecting.Cricket Willow’s origin can be traced back to an idle exchange during the 1902 Ashes Test at the MCG, when umpire Robert Crockett said to England captain Archie MacLaren that Australia did not cultivate its own bat willow.Above: Newstead and Hepburn meet in a Castlemaine & District Cricket Association match at the self-made ground at Cricket Willow
World Cup winner Abby Dow quits rugby in shock move to focus on career
The Rugby World Cup winner Abby Dow has announced her shock retirement from professional rugby, with the Red Roses head coach, John Mitchell, bemoaning the fact that England have lost “the best right winger in world rugby at the peak of her powers”.Dow has made the surprise move to focus on her engineering career. The England player’s last game came in the World Cup final in September when the Red Roses defeated Canada 33-13 in front of a world‑record crowd of 81,885 at Twickenham. Alongside the World Cup in her 59‑cap international career, the 28-year-old Dow won seven Six Nations titles and two WXV 1 trophies.The announcement is not a complete surprise as the wing left her club, Trailfinders, in June and had not signed for another side before the Premiership Women’s Rugby season, which began on 24 October
The Spin | First-over destroyer Mitchell Starc deserves place among Australia’s greats
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