Cricketing action has come to a screeching halt due to Coronavirus pandemic. England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has already cancelled all fixtures of their summer until May 28 and there is no certainty if the matches will go ahead for the rest of the summer. The county season should’ve started by now and this is the reason why Lancashire has terminated the contracts of three of their overseas players.

New Zealand’s wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling was signed to feature in the first nine matches for the county. Australia’s Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner were set to play for them in the T20 Blast. But their contracts have been terminated now due to the uncertainty of the matches going ahead. Lancashire has also termed this termination as ‘mutual’.

Lancashire’s Director of Cricket Paul Allott thanked the three cricketers for understanding the situation the county is in and cleared that both the parties mutually agreed to terminate the contract. “I would like to thank BJ, Glenn, James and their representatives for their total understanding of the current situation and full agreement of this decision,” he said in a statement according to Lancashire’s official website.

Lancashire players agree for a 20% paycut for month of May

Paul Allott also confirmed that the current situation is challenging in terms of finances for the county and this was the reason that Old Trafford Club thought it will only be prudent for them to end the contract they had originally signed with the players. However, he also cited that they can sign the trio again in 2021 while also stating that this is also a chance for the homegrown players to show their talent in case a truncated season is played this season.

No cricketing action has started to take a toll on the players’ payment as well now. England‘s international players have already accepted a paycut and now the Lancashire’s players have agreed for a 20% reduction in salary for the month of May as they are not playing the game. The paycut also applies to the support staff of the team even as the uncertainty over the whole summer remains amid lockdown due to COVID-19.