Eoin Morgan has insisted England players are “open to helping in whatever way possible” as the game struggles to come to terms with the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Morgan, the captain of England’s limited-overs teams, said he was “open to absolutely everything” that might be required to help the game through a crisis that Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, has warned could cost up to £300m if the entire season is abandoned.
And that help, Morgan said, could include a temporary pay cut. While such a cut has not been forthcoming as yet – Harrison sent an email to the PCA (the players’ union) requesting a voluntary cut on Sunday but revealed on Tuesday that the ECB were no longer seeking such a scenario – Morgan suggested conversations were ongoing.
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“I’m extremely willing to help where I know it will make a difference,” Morgan said. “So in the extremely uncertain times where no-one seems to have any answers on the actual impact it will have on international cricket or county cricket, I’m open to absolutely everything.”
“As players we are open to helping in whatever way possible. We want to hopefully make an impact. The difficult thing at the moment is to work out what the best way to help out as players is.
“Is it by social media? Is it to engage in other streams, sit back and let this pass and then hopefully play? They are answers we don’t have and can’t have at the moment.
“However, I think in the coming weeks when things become clearer, we can start putting in a strategy to implement. Getting back on the field seems quite a while away.”
Jos Buttler has taken things into his own hands. His offer to sell the shirt he wore in the World Cup final has, at the time of writing, attracted bids in excess of £65,000 with more than six days of the auction remaining. The money will be donated to the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals charity. Morgan was full of praise for Buttler’s generosity.
“It’s an incredibly kind gesture,” he said. “We’ve seen people donate during the Australian bush fires; we saw Shane Warne auction his Baggy Green cap for a million dollars or something absolutely ridiculous.
“The impact that can have on many lives as opposed to sitting in someone’s drawer as a bit of a trophy… personally it’s something I don’t understand.
“People have come out and said they would never do it. Justin Langer said he could never see a situation where he would do something like that but I find that hard to believe.
“Ultimately, when we find ourselves in such a crisis, things like that have absolutely no relevance to what is going on in the outside world. His shirt will go for a lot of money and it should do. But the gesture itself, to help buy new equipment, is absolutely outstanding.
Morgan also confirmed that even if the T20 World Cup is delayed, he intends to play in it. Morgan had considered retirement after England’s 50-over World Cup win in 2019 and had previously committed himself only until the end of the next T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to start in Australia in October.
“I’m looking to play both the next two T20 World Cups,” he said.
The tournament is scheduled to be played in India in October and November 2021.