PCA reiterates fatigue concerns ahead of county domestic review

The Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) has reiterated its concerns about player welfare due to the packed nature of the English domestic schedule, with 83% of respondents to a pre-season survey citing physical concerns over their current workload, and 67% believing the schedule is detrimental to their mental health.

The findings come after the PCA visited all 18 men's professional counties ahead of the 2025 season to gauge opinion on the state of the sport in England and Wales. The results of their survey represent a rise in concern across the game, following the PCA's dire warning in 2024 that the game had a duty to "pre-empt disaster" due to the long late-night journeys that many players were obliged to make to travel between fixtures.

Earlier this month, the ECB announced a review into the men's domestic structure, in which the number of County Championship matches could be reduced from 14 to 12 as soon as 2026.

With the anticipated windfall from the Hundred equity sale, allied to the rise of the new women's tiered county structure, Rob Andrew, the managing director of the professional game, said this could now be an opportunity for a "holistic" reappraisal of the county domestic structure.

According to the PCA, the "progressive integration of the women's teams" was a key theme of their pre-season meetings, as well as the impact of private investment into the game, and how all male and female players can benefit.

Ben Foakes, the England and Surrey wicketkeeper, welcomed the prospect of heightened investment in the domestic game, but reiterated the players' wider concerns about fatigue amid the current schedule.

"You hear the amount of money coming into the game, and you want to know how the whole game can grow," Foakes said. "At Surrey, we now have the women's team, which is great, and there's a lot of forward momentum.

"We do play a hell of a lot of cricket. It is tough, and I don't think it necessarily produces the best cricket at times because you have people sleepwalking on to the pitch which definitely doesn't help. It is a balancing act, and it is just about trying to get it right."

Olly Hannon-Dalby, the PCA chair, said: "We have a clear mandate based on the growing feeling amongst the membership that change is required to protect current and future professional cricketers in England and Wales. The meetings were set out to support the positive direction of travel we have seen in the domestic structure review meetings the PCA has been part of since late 2024. We are confident there is a greater appetite for change now compared to previous reviews.

"Ultimately, our members are consistently telling the game they are worried about their mental and physical health because of the schedule, and almost every conversation I am having is a realistic one. This isn't about huge reductions or creating conflict - far from it. We want to play as much as we can, in a safe environment at optimum levels to entertain county members and supporters, and ultimately drive the game forwards for a vibrant future."

Nine out of ten respondents to the PCA's survey believe a minimum one-day break between T20 games should be standard going forward, with 77% believing there is too much county cricket played across the summer - an 11% rise from the figure in 2024.

The meetings also addressed the ECB's recent change to its NOC policy, which led to the red-ball retirement of Hampshire's James Vince earlier this year, due to his conflicting opportunities in the Pakistan Super League. Only 9% of respondents believed the policy was completely fair, but there was an acceptance that progress has been made since its initial implementation.

PCA chief executive Daryl Mitchell said: "The pre-season meetings are always a highlight of the year as we get a real feel of how each squad is feeling, and there is huge positivity from domestic players. The introduction of joint meetings with the Tier 1 women's teams was a huge positive, and there has been a fantastic integration across the counties to create the one-club, two-team ethos.

"We are also in a time of change. There is a great deal of support for the investment the ECB has brought into the game through the Hundred, whilst there are many questions on how all players will benefit, [and] not just those holding Hundred contracts. I have been really impressed with the domestic structure review process, and this data will only support the work of the group and wider stakeholders in understanding how some reasonable adjustments could have a great impact on pushing domestic cricket to new heights."

England and Hampshire fast bowler John Turner said: "The structure is a contentious one, and you will never please everyone. It's [about] trying to find what is best for the game as a whole, and it feels like we are moving in the right direction.

"From the conversations today, we understand whatever the outcome, it won't be perfect. But it has to be better than what we have at the moment, which would allow us to be closer to 100% for every game."

Findings from the women's research will be published ahead of the domestic season.