The Professional Cricketers’ Association has warned that a move away from year-round county contracts will hasten the rise of white-ball specialists and have a detrimental effect on the main driver of revenue in the English game: the men’s Test team.

As it stands, domestic cricketers enjoy freedom of movement between October and March, with 74 English players featuring in at least one overseas franchise tournament during the most recent northern hemisphere winter. For competitions that take place during the English summer – chiefly the Indian Premier League and the Hundred – the players pay a portion of their earnings back to their county in compensation.

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But there appears to be growing unease about this arrangement at certain clubs; a belief that some tournament-hopping cricketers are using their county for coaching and medical support, but leaving them short‑changed in terms of playing time.

Surrey’s director of cricket, Alec Stewart, recently told Sky Sports: “They go away and play elsewhere and when they come back they want time in the indoor centre, the benefit of the best coaches advising them on their game, just to get ready to go off and play in another franchise competition somewhere else. ‘Oh and by the way, I’ve got a little injury so can I get treated by the physio, the doctor, the medical staff and can I get rehab as well?’”

Stewart went on to question whether counties may start signing players on competition-specific deals and bill them for off-field support outside of this time. But as well as reminding the counties that the year‑round contract is a product of past talks involving concessions from all parties – and short‑term deals are already possible – the PCA also fears unintended consequences.

“If you start to send players down the freelance route and out of our competitions, that’s a real risk to the game,” said Daryl Mitchell, the union’s chief operating officer. “It will create more white-ball specialists and could have a detrimental effect on the red-ball game and the Test team. And the men’s Test team is what underpins the [English] game’s finances.

“Take away the care package of coaching and medical support and it becomes very transactional. Players love having a ‘home’, but strip away those benefits and the big career decisions become easier for players – in the wrong direction.

“I understand the frustrations of the counties and players need to respect that side of it. We’re also very aware the global landscape has evolved and contracts need to evolve with it. But I don’t think contracting guys for six to eight weeks for specific competitions is the way to go. We have to protect the pathway.

“Players going fully freelance in white-ball cricket is happening already. Look at West Indies or Trent Boult [turning down his New Zealand central contract]. It would be naive, even a bit arrogant, to think it wouldn’t happen to us. We need strong teams, strong structures and if that happens, everyone benefits.”

Asked if the mooted prospect of IPL franchises offering 12-month contracts to players should be a consideration here, as well as the new T20 league in the US that clashes with the English summer, Mitchell said: “It will accelerate that process, without a shadow of a doubt. We need to keep hold of our talent or the product is devalued.”

Mitchell and Rob Lynch, the PCA chief executive, believe that rather than viewing the status quo negatively counties should make a virtue of the year-round support on offer during individual contract talks. Equally, the union continues to remind its members that deductions – such as the 12.5% of earnings paid to counties for featuring in the Hundred – are part of the give and take, despite ongoing grumbles here.

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The England and Wales Cricket Board, the PCA and the counties are now in the early stages of talks over arrangements for the period 2025‑28. How the Hundred fits into the landscape is one of the questions, its future being the source of recent speculation. On Tuesday it was confirmed that Sanjay Patel, managing director of the tournament, will leave the ECB after this year’s edition.

The tournament was introduced in a five-year broadcast deal worth £1.1bn, since extended by another four years to 2028. But while the Hundred has led to central payments to counties increasing by £1.3m per year, the union has noted a stagnation in domestic player salaries.

Mitchell said: “Every county gets £1.3m a year more since the Hundred started but the total salary payment has gone up around £1m across all 18 counties in this time – about £60,000 per club. So in real terms, [collectively] players are worse off than five years ago. That’s where freedom of movement [in the winter] is key to earning potential.”