Vilas left frustrated by Hundred cash blow

DANE VILAS refused to dwell on what his current Kolpak status means for his chances of playing in The Hundred next year after admitting the financial impact of this summer’s postponement was “a hard to pill to swallow”.

The Lancashire captain was drafted in the top-tier £125,000 bracket by Manchester Originals in the auction last October, but the coronavirus pandemic led to the inaugural edition being shelved.

Complicating the matter for 2021 is all Kolpak registrations are set to be cancelled after December 31 this year and thus ineligible to feature as local players, while the Originals are already at their limit of three overseas stars.

Talks are going on behind the scenes between the Professional Cricketers’ Association, the players’ union, and the England and Wales Cricket Board about the contracts rolling over to next year or whether there should be a redraft.

Speaking via conference call, Vilas said: “You can go crazy at times and you can come up with eight or 10 different theories. You can’t really worry about it if it’s not in your hands, you’ve just got to deal with it when it comes.

“Playing in the inaugural tournament would have been a great honour and being part of the Manchester Originals. It is tough but hopefully it rolls over to next year and we can still all be a part of that.

“Once the ECB and the PCA make the decision - and I know they’ll make it with the best interests of all the players, we just need to wait and hear what they say.

“I’ve gone from probably having my best year ever financially with a really nice contract to nothing. But I think people have and will lose a huge amount more. To look at yourself on an individual basis, you can’t really do that.

“In sport, it’s never yours until it’s in your hands or you’ve played the tournament.”