“International boards have got to put their hands in their pockets to save international cricket”
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Former England captain Michael Vaughan has expressed his concern over the future of international cricket given the ongoing pay dispute between the Australian players and Cricket Australia.
With opener and Test vice-captain David Warner having said that Australia are prepared to boycott the Ashes if a deal isn’t reached, Vaughan is perturbed that this may become an all too familiar scene with other international teams in the future.
“It’s great for England to see Australia falling out and fighting with each other but in terms of the game as a whole it’s not a great story,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Tuffers and Vaughan Show. “I’ve never seen it to this level. It’s sad for the game when you’re hearing this but I don’t think it will be the last case of players getting together as groups. There’s so much money coming through TV deals, I think players will say ‘we fancy a piece of that’.
“International boards have got to put their hands in their pockets to save international cricket. In our day international cricket was the sole money-maker for the game but the Twenty20 leagues are catching up.”
In regards to the England team, Vaughan sees the Indian Premier League (IPL) becoming an issue as he feels the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will have to become increasingly lenient in allowing players to participate in the star-studded tournament.
Players like Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler were allowed to skip the recent two-match ODI series against Ireland in order to keep playing in the IPL, but they were made to return home shortly after as the national team will be travelling to Spain for a training camp prior to their three-match ODI series against South Africa and the Champions Trophy.
“It will be very difficult for players who’ve only got a short time playing if they can’t go to the IPL,” Vaughan said. “England have to manage it well and they may have to open up windows and doors for the likes of Stokes to play IPL.
“Next year Ben Stokes will be the player every single franchise will try to get.”