ECB chair warns players are being 'exhausted' by 'unrelenting' schedule

England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Richard Thompson urged a review of the cricket calendar on Wednesday, saying some players were "obviously exhausted" after an "unrelenting" summer of international and domestic fixtures and calling for reductions in match volumes.

Thompson, speaking at the opening of the country's second all-weather cricket dome in Darwen, Lancashire, said the game must "look at the schedule" to protect players' welfare and performance, and outlined steps the ECB is taking including a reduction in group-stage matches in the domestic T20 Blast.

The Hundred competition this year began the day after a five-Test series between England and India concluded, a stretch that left some players unavailable for the opening round of Hundred fixtures. Thompson said it was not surprising that some players were worn down after every Test in the series went the full five days. "I can't ever remember a five-Test series going five days in every Test," he said. "This was a one-off in the sense of ensuring the players actually had the ability to get to the end of it. But yes, there were some creaking bodies."

England rested batters Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith from the ongoing T20 series against South Africa; Duckett, Smith and Harry Brook had played every one of England's 15 international fixtures this summer as well as featuring in The Hundred. Thompson highlighted that the pressure on white-ball players is intensified by cricket staging a World Cup every year, calling that schedule "pretty unrelenting for those players."

The ECB has confirmed that from next season teams will play two fewer group-stage Blast matches, reducing the number from 14 to 12. The board is also exploring potential reductions in County Championship fixtures, though decisions on any revamp of the championship remain with the counties.

Thompson acknowledged that some investors in The Hundred expect the country's top players to be available for the full competition. He said altering the timing of high-profile events to provide gaps before and after The Hundred will likely have to wait until 2028, when the current television-rights cycle ends. "This Hundred investment has come when we're actually in the middle of a rights path that we can't change," he said. "So we're only three years away from being able to ensure there is a gap at the beginning and end of that period, so there isn't a situation where the players are exhausted."

Scheduling has already produced immediate consequences: two days after the end of The Hundred, an underprepared England side began a one-day international series against South Africa and lost 2-1. Thompson noted England have lost five of their past six ODI series since the 2023 World Cup. "Whether it's in 50-over format or T20 format, we have a World Cup every year, so we have an exam to sit that does put white-ball players actually under more pressure," he said. Still, he added he was not worried about a long-term downturn in performance: "I'm not at all worried that we're going into a fallow period, we'll come through this."

The Darwen visit also formed part of the ECB's announcement on indoor facilities aimed at widening participation. The government pledged £1.5 million for two new indoor domes to be built in Luton and Lancashire, and Thompson said the ECB aims ultimately to establish 40 such domes to provide year-round playing opportunities in towns and cities and to make the sport more inclusive. The ECB plans to channel at least £50 million from the reported £520 million raised through the sale of stakes in the eight Hundred franchises to grassroots cricket, with the remainder intended to reduce the sport's debt.

Thompson framed the investment in facilities as a way to broaden access to the game, saying the domes would help "soak up" interest expected around major upcoming events such as next year's women's T20 World Cup. "I believe that cricket is going into a golden era, and for it to be that, you need somewhere for kids to come and play," he said.

The announcement drew criticism from Cindy Butts, chair of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, whose 2023 report called the English game elitist, racist and sexist. Butts said the ECB erred in not making participation in the county talent pathway free. Thompson said the pathway is "significantly subsidised wherever we can do that" and defended the domes as a more transformative investment for widening participation. "Inclusivity is a very broad term, it's not just race... anybody that wants to play cricket can and should be able to play cricket, and that's the ambition," he said.

Thompson reiterated that player welfare was a primary motivation behind the ECB's scheduling review. He said the board and counties share a broad understanding that burning players out is not in the game's long-term interest and that changes to the domestic and international calendar will be pursued within the constraints of existing commercial agreements.

The ECB did not provide a detailed timetable for potential reductions in first-class fixtures, noting counties must engage in consultation before any changes are finalised. Thompson said the board would continue to balance the commercial benefits of competitions such as The Hundred with the physical demands placed on England's international players.

Cricket's dense calendar has produced calls for a more coordinated global approach to scheduling. Thompson's remarks add to a wider debate about how to protect players' welfare while maintaining the game's growth and the commercial model that has driven investment in new competitions.