James Vince, No-Objection Certificates and the PSL: Why are the ECB and county cricketers clashing over T20 leagues? | Cricket News

Hampshire’s James Vince has quit red-ball cricket in 2025 and secured a lucrative contract in the Pakistan Super League, where the ECB has made it clear it must crack down on players pursuing franchise T20 contracts while on red-ball deals with their countries.

Vince’s move comes at a time when the ECB and regional players are at loggerheads over the governing body’s new policy on No Objection Certificates (NOCs).

So what are NOCs? Why the ECB’s policy change? And who are most affected by the move?

What separates the ECB and the players?

Vince, along with a number of other England players, sought clarity from the ECB on whether they would be granted NOCs to play in the Pakistan Super League and other T20 tournaments set to clash in the domestic summer.

Players reportedly reacted furiously in late November when the ECB announced a new policy on NOCs, which chief executive Richard Gould said was designed to “protect our game”.

The new policy will allow players to decline NOCs for all overseas leagues that take place during the English summer, including the PSL, the Caribbean Premier League and the US Cricket Premier League, with the exception of the Indian Premier League.

“We have to protect our summer,” Gould said. “When we have players under contract, we want to encourage them to stay and play in our tournaments.”

The Professional Cricket Association (PCA) said at the time that they were blindsided by politics and that their sense of “genuine partnership” with the ECB had disappeared.

There is even a threat of a legal challenge, citing trade restrictions. “PCA’s legal team is currently completing a thorough review of the implementation of the policy,” it said in November.

Why is ECB not allowing players to play in PSL?

While the PSL was once a popular season for English players, its move to a new fixture on the calendar from April 8 to May 19 means it now faces a four-day competition in the county championship.

Players who have white-ball contracts with their counties will receive NOCs for competitions that do not clash with the Vitality Blast or Hundred, but all format contracts will not.

Gould explained that the ECB’s tougher stance on NOCs was introduced to prevent domestic competitions from being “disrupted” by foreign leagues, as fears grow of a watered-down domestic product if top players ply their trade elsewhere.

Vince had signed a contract across all formats, captaining the club in four-day and T20 cricket, until after being retained by the Karachi Kings in the PSL draft on Monday, he changed his deal with the club to white-ball only, with the announcement. next wednesday

The 33-year-old, who was part of England’s 2019 World Cup-winning squad, has endured a difficult 2024 on a personal level following several attacks on his family home, resulting in his family’s decision to relocate to Dubai.

Giles White, Hampshire’s director of cricket, said: “We realize this announcement will be disappointing for many fans, but we hope everyone will join us in celebrating what (Vince) has given to our club over the years and support him as he fulfills his commitment to continue to lead the Falcons In the 2025 Vitality Blast.”

Which players are affected?

Somerset Pastry Tom Kohler-Cudmore someone can influence the ECB’s new policy towards NOCs.

Still unchanged on his all-format county deal, the 30-year-old will currently miss at least the first six games of the Championship season if he is to fulfill his PSL contract with Peshawar Zalmi.

Four other English players. Tom Curran (Surrey), Chris Jordan (Surrey), Sam Billings (Kent) and David Willey (Northamptonshire) – will participate in the PSL but without any problem due to having a white ball only deal with their respective counties.

Several recent England internationals including Saqib Mahmood, Luke Wood and: George Gartonare currently under county contracts, mainly for white-ball cricket, but also contain ‘pay-as-you-play’ versions of the league.

If they were to be drafted into the T20 league, which conflicts with the domestic summer, they would not be awarded NOCs until they retire from red-ball cricket.

Six England centre-backs have reportedly registered for the PSL Draft but were marked as ‘unavailable’ on a long list sent to franchises after the ECB made it clear it would not grant them NOCs.

This included Jonny Bairstow – who hasn’t played in England since June, and Adil Rashid.

Hussain: Critical point of balance between red and white balls

Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain. “I was in Essex a few days ago and they were talking about the Vince situation and the implications.

“He’s not just a white-ball specialist, he’s a very, very good red-ball player who’s been running for them for a long time and he’s the club captain.

“I think he’s coming to the end of his professional career so if there’s a £100,000 offer from the PSL on the table, he can just go as a freelancer and do what he can.

“Don’t you think the likes of the West Indies, South Africa and even New Zealand are going ‘welcome to our world’?”

“Now we’re just getting closer to the fact that they’re coming into our summer. We’re going to have the America franchise (MLC) in the summer as well.

“It’s just a battle between white ball cricket and red ball. It’s very expensive to wear the red ball even at the provincial level.

“It’s a real critical point where the balance between red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket is at the moment.”