Counties Tighten NOCs as Franchise Leagues Encroach on English Summer

The proliferation of franchise leagues has prompted counties to become more selective in issuing No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) to their players, according to Daryl Mitchell, interim chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA).

In recent years, the number of overseas leagues clashing with the English summer has surged. English players have participated in leagues in India, Sri Lanka, the US, the Caribbean, the Cayman Islands, and Zimbabwe this year, with the Pakistan Super League (PSL) adding to the congestion next season.

Fourteen English players featured in PSL 2024, including Sam Billings, Alex Hales, and David Willey, who are expected to return in 2025. However, other players will be unavailable due to the tournament's overlap with the IPL and counties' reluctance to release players for the start of the season.

Liam Dawson, a veteran of five PSL seasons, will not participate in the tournament next year. "I'll be playing for Hampshire at that time," he said at the cinch PCA awards, where he was named men's player of the year for his County Championship performances.

Alec Stewart, Surrey's departing director of cricket, believes the ECB should take a more proactive role. "Money talks, and if they are earning five times what they earn at our place, their heads will get turned," he said. "We need the ECB to stand firm on this and not say, 'It's up to the counties', and to bring in regulations."

Counties currently have the authority to withhold or withdraw NOCs for non-centrally contracted players, as Surrey did earlier this year to prevent Jamie Overton from participating in the PSL. However, some believe that counties risk losing players to other counties or the franchise circuit if they do not accommodate their demands.

"The global landscape is obviously important to our members, particularly the top 20% who play in global tournaments," Mitchell said. "NOCs are always on the agenda, and we need to work through how that will look moving forward."

"It's a challenge, and we have to find a solution. There are many tournaments that encroach onto our season, and we need to work through that, possibly on an individual basis, to see how it aligns."

Daniel Gidney, the Lancashire chief executive, recently criticized NOCs and standard county contracts, claiming they have been "diluted" and blaming player agents for prioritizing global tournaments over the County Championship. Mitchell expressed confusion over the criticism, stating that counties have the right to deny NOCs during the summer months and have not fully exercised that right.

Mitchell predicts that counties will increasingly use their power to ensure the availability of top English players throughout the season, rather than allowing them to miss Championship games for overseas commitments.

"Counties have the right to [deny NOCs] within the summer months, and they probably haven't used their rights as much as they could have done," he said. "It's up to the counties, and their discretion… The global landscape is shifting so quickly, and we have to evolve with it and try to find the best fit that works for everyone."

The PCA's other focus during the English winter will be lobbying for a resolution to the ongoing debate around the domestic schedule, with the aim of having a plan in place for the 2026 season by next summer.

"The debate needs to start pretty quickly," Mitchell said. "Counties ideally would like to know exactly what they're playing for. If there are going to be any structural changes come 2026, they want to know what they're playing for in '25, I would imagine. It's really challenging. There's loads of moving parts in there, and ultimately, the counties will decide what they want the structure of the county season to look like."

Recent changes to the IPL's regulations are expected to encourage a large number of English players to enter the mega-auction for the league's 2025 season. Previously, players could choose whether to enter a certain season, but the BCCI has now stipulated that a failure to register for a mega-auction will make that overseas player ineligible for the following season too.

Tags: #Cricket, #FranchiseLeagues, #NOCs, #EnglishPlayers, #CountyChampionship