Yorkshire are first county to place players on furlough leave
YORKSHIRE have become the first county to furlough their players and cricket staff in response to the coronavirus crisis.
With the domestic season delayed until May 28 at present — and the expectation of further such postponements — discussions over pay reductions, deferrals and furlough options have been ongoing with the 18 firstclass counties and the Professional Cricketers’ Association.
The PCA had been hoping to announce a collective agreement following a series of conference calls over the weekend but the White Rose county became the first to show their hand when they revealed the decision had been ratified at board level on Friday.
A statement read: “The Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s players and cricket staff have been placed on furlough leave until further notice. This comes after the majority of non-playing staff were placed on furlough leave at the end of March.
“Each player and member of staff in the cricket department were contacted individually by Director of Cricket Martyn Moxon on Friday night.”
The public purse will cover 80% of wages up to £2,500 a month during furlough. A spokesman confirmed that the club was covering the remainder of all wages to ensure no employee suffers a loss in income.
England Test captain Joe Root, batsman Jonny Bairstow and spinner Adil Rashid are not affected by the news as they are centrally contracted by the ECB, but there are a series of high-profile players involved such as David Willey, Dawid Malan, Gary Ballance and Adam Lyth.