COUNTY cricketers will continue to take pay cuts of up to 20% in June and July, the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) has confirmed.

Salaries have been reduced since April and some players have been furloughed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The domestic season has been postponed until at least 1 August.

Options for playing first-class and limited-overs competitions later in the summer will be presented to the England and Wales Cricket Board in June.

But at least 10 rounds of the County Championship campaign, which was scheduled to start on 12 April, will be lost.

The deal would see players on multi-year contracts accept a pay cut of no more than 20%, with 12% the limit for single-year contracts unless agreed otherwise.

A total of 134 county players are out of contract at the end of the year.

Worcestershire all-rounder and PCA chairman Daryl Mitchell said: “This has not been an easy decision and causes a great deal of disruption to many of our members. However, the PCA Players’ Committee ultimately agreed this is the right thing to do.”

Mitchell continued: “Working collaboratively through this crisis has always been one of our top priorities and I appreciate the collective spirit of these discussions with the first-class counties, particularly at this most challenging of times.

“The understanding and support I have had from the PCA Players’ Committee and senior players around the counties has continued to be vital.

“As a group we have been in constant communication to ensure we are supporting the interests of all professional players in England and Wales while being alert to the need for players to play their part.”(BBC Sport).