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Manchester, 13 September 2025:
The cricket calendar has become “unrelenting” and is leaving some players “obviously exhausted,” England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Richard Thompson told BBC Sport.
Thompson pointed to the overlap between England’s Test series against India and the start of The Hundred, which began the next day, forcing some players to miss matches.
“Cricket arguably does play too much,” Thompson said. “We’re the only sport to have a World Cup every year, which I personally think is too much.”
Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith have been rested from the current Twenty20 series against South Africa, less than six months before the T20 World Cup. Both had played all 15 internationals this summer, along with The Hundred, as did Harry Brook.
“We want the best players playing as much as possible, but you need to find balance, both at a domestic as well as an international level,” Thompson said at the opening of the country’s second indoor all-weather cricket dome in Darwen, Lancashire.
England’s 2-2 Test draw with India stretched across six weeks and left players drained, Thompson said. “I can’t ever remember a five-Test series going five days in every Test. There were some creaking bodies.”
Thompson confirmed that the number of T20 Blast games will be cut from 14 to 12 next year, with counties still weighing changes to the County Championship. The decision comes after a players’ union survey found 83% were concerned about physical wellbeing and 67% about mental health due to the schedule.
The Hundred’s new investors want England players available throughout next year’s competition, which is scheduled between an ODI series against India and a Test series against Pakistan. Thompson said meaningful calendar changes will have to wait until 2028, when the next TV rights cycle begins.
He also addressed the ECB’s wider goals, including inclusivity and grassroots investment. The board plans to use part of the £520 million raised through private investment in The Hundred to erase debt and build indoor domes across the country.
“This is really the game-changing moment for the game,” Thompson said. “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.”
