Players 'exhausted' By 'relentless' Schedule - Ecb Chief

Cricket must "look astatine nan schedule" of a "relentless" calendar, pinch immoderate players "obviously exhausted" this summer, says England and Wales Cricket Board president Richard Thompson.

This year's Hundred title sewage nether measurement nan time aft a thrilling England men's Test bid against India finished, pinch immoderate players missing nan opening information of games.

"Cricket arguably does play excessively much," Thompson told BBC Sport.

"We're nan only athletics to person a World Cup each year, which I personally deliberation is excessively much."

England batters Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith person been rested from nan ongoing T20 bid against South Africa, little than six months earlier a World Cup successful nan format.

Both they and Harry Brook person played each 15 world fixtures to day for England this summer, on pinch nan Hundred past month.

"We want nan champion players playing arsenic overmuch arsenic possible, but you request to find balance, some astatine a home arsenic good arsenic an world level," said Thompson, who was speaking astatine nan opening of nan country's 2nd all-weather cricket 'dome' successful Darwen, Lancashire.

England drew nan Test bid against India 2-2, and Thompson accepts nan intimately fought title took its toll.

The bid began connected 20 June and ended connected 4 August, pinch each 5 Test matches lasting 5 days.

"I'm not amazed immoderate of nan players were evidently exhausted… I can't ever retrieve a five-Test bid going 5 days successful each Test," Thompson said.

"This was a one-off successful nan consciousness of ensuring nan players really had nan expertise to get to nan extremity of it. But yes, location were immoderate creaking bodies.

"We person to look astatine nan schedule. We're reducing nan number of T20 Blast games we're playing. We're looking to perchance trim nan magnitude of Championship cricket."

Teams will play 2 less games successful nan group stages of nan Blast from adjacent year, reducing nan number of matches from 14 to 12, pinch counties yet to determine really to revamp nan championship.

"I deliberation there's a wide understanding, arsenic overmuch from subordinate use arsenic anything, that we don't want to pain players out," said Thompson.

Some of nan Hundred's caller investors person made clear they expect their England players to beryllium disposable passim adjacent year's competition. Next twelvemonth nan Hundred is group to commencement 2 days aft a one-day world (ODI) bid against India and 3 days earlier nan first Test against Pakistan.

Thompson says scheduling much abstraction either broadside of nan arena will person to hold until 2028 erstwhile nan adjacent TV authorities rhythm starts.

"This Hundred finance has travel erstwhile we're really successful nan mediate of a authorities way that we can't change. So we're only 3 years distant from being capable to guarantee location is simply a spread astatine nan opening and extremity of that period, truthful location isn't a business wherever nan players are exhausted."

Just 2 days aft nan extremity of this year's Hundred, an unprepared England began their ODI title against South Africa, and a 2-1 conclusion intends they person mislaid 5 of their past six bid successful nan format since nan 2023 World Cup.

"Whether it's successful 50-over format aliases T20 format, we person a World Cup each year, truthful we person an exam to beryllium that does put white-ball players really nether much pressure," said Thompson.

"Where rugby aliases shot hold each 4 years, we travel each year, truthful it's beautiful unrelenting for those players. But I'm not astatine each worried that we're going into a fallow period, we'll travel done this."

Last period nan authorities pledged £1.5m for 2 caller indoor athletics domes successful Luton and Lancashire. Thompson says nan ECB wants to build 40 of nan accommodation to amended opportunities successful towns and cities for state-school children to play each twelvemonth round, and make nan athletics much inclusive.

When asked if nan £520m generated by nan waste of stakes successful nan 8 Hundred franchises to backstage investors would help, Thompson said: "The Hundred windfall is arsenic overmuch to swipe retired nan indebtedness of nan game… £50m will beryllium going to grassroots."

Cindy Butts, nan chair of nan Independent Commission for Equity successful Cricket (ICEC), whose landmark 2023 study concluded that nan English crippled was elitist, racist and sexist, has said nan ECB made a "mistake" successful not committing to making information successful nan region talent pathway free of charge.

But Thompson said: "I deliberation successful position of wherever we're investing, this is simply a acold amended usage of our money… nan pathway is importantly subsidised wherever we tin do that.

"But this is really nan game-changing infinitesimal for nan game. I judge that cricket is going into a aureate era, and for it to beryllium that, you request location for kids to travel and play. The [T20] Women's World Cup adjacent twelvemonth is going to activate a batch of interest. That's why it's truthful important we tin soak that liking up."

When asked whether capable had been done to make nan English crippled much inclusive since nan 2023 ICEC report, Thompson said: "We've made a immense magnitude of advancement successful nan past 2 years to get there, but we've still sewage a agelong measurement to go. Inclusivity is simply a very wide term, it's not conscionable race... anybody that wants to play cricket tin and should beryllium capable to play cricket, and that's nan ambition.

"These centres, these domes, are a measurement of demonstrating that we're trying to scope communities we've ne'er reached before."