England Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood fears that unless the pay-gap between playing Test cricket and in Twenty20 events such as the Indian Premier League is narrowed, future players will simply opt out of the “mental torture” of an Ashes series.
Collingwood, in an interview with the June issue of the Wisden Cricketer magazine, said: “My generation saw Test cricket and playing in the Ashes as the ultimate. That was my dream.
“I gave up the (England) one-day captaincy (in July last year) because it was affecting my Test game and I wanted to keep my Test place.
“Maybe in the future today’s young players will prioritise one-day and Twenty20.
“We have to be careful. If you can get 10 times the money for playing a few weeks of Twenty20 than for months of mental torture in the Ashes, then I’m afraid to say some people would take the first option.”
Collingwood, who returned recently from a stint in the lucrative Indian Premier League ahead of England’s first Test against the West Indies starting at Lord’s on Wednesday, added: “We have to make sure the pay and bonuses for Test cricket and Twenty20 are closer, otherwise players will concentrate on Twenty20 from an early age.
“If that’s the way we want to go as a world sport, then fine, keep it as it is. If Test cricket is the ultimate, then we are going to have to do something about remuneration.
“A select few get mega-deals through Test cricket. If you do well, things come along but, playing in the IPL, your profile shoots up.
“To me the IPL is a bonus and I really hope young players coming into the game will think the same way.”
The Durham all-rounder also said there had to be a greater financial incentive for county players to seek England contracts.
“At the moment some county cricketers have basic salaries not far off England contracts,” he said.
Plenty of county players now earn more than 100,000 bucks (pounds) and that’s for six months.
“Our (England players) contracts are for a year. I’m not having a go, because we do fantastically well, but shouldn’t the gap be a lot further apart so there is a real incentive to get one of those England contracts?”
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