Roy risks England place with £300k US deal
JASON ROY last night confirmed he has terminated his ECB central contract to sign a lucrative deal to play Major League Cricket in the United States this summer.
Mail Sport revealed earlier in the day that the World Cupwinning opening batter had informed the ECB he wanted to take up the offer of a £300,000, twoyear deal from the Los Angeles Knight Riders in preference to his incremental contract, which is worth £60,000 a year and is due to expire in October. Roy (right) is the first England player to walk away from a central contract in order to pursue alternative ambitions with a Twenty20 franchise, but made it clear he still wants to play for his country and is targeting this autumn’s 50-over World Cup in India. As Major League Cricket clashes with County Championship and T20 Blast matches in July, the ECB were only prepared to grant him the No Objection Certificate required to play if he cancelled his deal with them. ‘To be very clear, my priority is England cricket, especially with a World Cup soon upon us,’ Roy wrote on Twitter. ‘It is for me, and for any player, the greatest honour to receive a cap to play for their country. I wanted to clarify that I am not and never will walk away from England.’ Roy was a mainstay of England’s white ball revolution under Eoin Morgan, which climaxed in winning the 50-over World Cup for the first time at Lord’s four years ago.
But he lost his place in the side last summer and was left out of the squad for the Twenty20 World Cup last autumn, which England also won.
The 32-year-old was recalled to the 50-over team after the short-form World Cup, however, and played nine one-day internationals against Australia, South Africa and Bangladesh last winter. The ECB have provided reassurances that Roy’s decision will not affect his chances of World Cup selection, although that claim will be sorely tested in the coming months, as they will be wary of setting a precedent which could encourage other players to leave domestic cricket for franchise tournaments abroad. England team-mates Alex Hales, David Willey and Reece Topley are all understood to have similar offers from Major League Cricket franchises, although none of them have yet signed up.
Roy’s willingness to walk away from an ECB deal illustrates the threat to international cricket posed by the rise of T20 franchise leagues, fuelled by the huge growth of the Indian Premier League.
Mail Sport revealed this month that Mumbai Indians are preparing to offer Jofra Archer a 12-month contract that would take precedence over his ECB deal and Roy’s move reflects this trend, as the LA Knight Riders are owned by his IPL team, Kolkata Knight Riders. The inaugural Major League Cricket, which launches in Texas this summer, represents a particular threat to English cricket due to scheduling, with Mail Sport revealing yesterday that the new competition will expand into August next year, leading to a clash with the Hundred. Four of the six franchises in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Texas and Washington are owned by IPL teams who are offering salaries of up to £300,000, compared to a top rate of just £125,000 in the Hundred.