England Will Not Allow Cricketers to Play Suspected Leagues

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced to clamp down on players participating in competitions with suspected links to corruption and aims to curb players from quickly switching between overlapping franchise leagues.

The announcement follows a special report by a British Newspaper which flagged the risks posed by “double-dipping”—where players, upon early elimination from one league, swiftly join another, potentially increasing their earnings while intensifying player burnout and ethical concerns.

ECB Chief Executive Richard Gould confirmed the governing body will no longer issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for players joining leagues that raise corruption concerns, whether or not they’re sanctioned by the ICC. “We will take a more protective line with our players, particularly if we perceive that there’s a risk of corruption,” Gould said.

He emphasized that in cases where questionable betting patterns or lax operational oversight are evident, the ECB has a duty to shield players from entering problematic situations.

In 2023, 74 England-qualified men’s players participated in global franchise tournaments, more than any other country—a number expected to rise. While the ECB supports English players’ presence in leading leagues, Gould underscored that the board must ensure players aren’t drawn into environments with a corruption risk. “We are currently reviewing our NOC policy… competitions that are more at risk from either poor operating procedures or possibly corruption,” he added.

The trend of “double-dipping” has also sparked ECB concerns. The term refers to when players eliminated from one tournament immediately join another concurrent league and Gould argued that it could disrupt the game’s integrity.

He signaled that the ECB may prevent players from signing overlapping contracts, as with players exiting the Big Bash League early to join South Africa’s SA20 league. “We’re going to have to stop that by being more rigid on our NOCs,” said Gould. “Players should not compete in overlapping tournaments. We’ll incorporate that with the NOC policy change to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

With more than 20 short-format leagues featuring international talent currently in play, Gould questioned the long-term sustainability of all these competitions, especially those lacking strong domestic backing or crowd support.