England Players Flag Mutiny As Stanford Delivers £75m

The Texan billionaire, Sir Allen Stanford, has ridden into English cricket not a moment too soon. On the day that the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed a five-year agreement with Stanford for two international Twenty20 tournaments worth a total of $150m (£75m), an extensive survey suggested a disturbing lack of loyalty among England players to the national side.

The Professional Cricketers' Association, which canvassed opinions of more than 300 first-class cricketers, has uncovered the disarray in the England game following the advent of the Indian Premier League, with many players hankering after the financial rewards and threatening to abandon traditional ties. The ECB privately says it is the only body able to offer players a safe financial future.

According to the PCA, 35% of England players would consider retiring prematurely from international cricket to play in the IPL "primarily to avoid the grind of cricket and to spend more time with their family". The same number predicted that IPL-type tournaments will be given precedence over England obligations. As many as 89% called for players to be allowed to play in the tournaments they wish.

The survey has its contradictions. Test cricket is still regarded as the ultimate challenge with 93% of first-class players regarding it as important that it retained its status. Yet flash dollar signs in front of some of these players and all that sounds little more than lip service.

On the day the ICC sacked its chief executive, Malcolm Speed, England's professionals were scathing about the governing body: 64% expressed "no confidence" in the ICC's ability to run the game while 57% believe it is an Indian puppet. Of the players surveyed 18% said that they would rebel against ECB edicts by signing up for the unauthorized Indian Cricket League, and risk a one-year county ban, with a further 27% unsure about their response.

England's one-day captain, Paul Collingwood, was less extreme. He said: "We've all said how attractive the IPL is but it's clear the pathways are through England representation. We must try to create an even better T20 competition than we have now in our summer but importantly not forget the cricket that goes around it both domestically and internationally. The players' views are vital in that process."

From next winter England will play an annual $20m winner-takes-all Twenty20 match at the Stanford Oval in Antigua. The first game is scheduled for November 1, Antigua's independence day. If the West Indies Stanford XI wins, the players will share $15m, with $5m going to West Indies cricket; if England win, their players also share $15m, and the ECB and West Indies cricket will also gain an unspecified sum.

Stanford will offer a further $10m a year to a four-team Twenty20 tournament in England every September, probably from 2010, consisting of two semi-finals and a final. England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand will contest the first tournament. They agreed three priorities: that both West Indies and English cricket should receive financial benefit, that the tournament should include some of the less wealthy countries and that the tournament should have longevity.

Stanford may also become a leading investor in the English Premier League - the restructured domestic Twenty20 League, details of which will be thrashed out next month. "As we say in Texas, if we take this bull by the horns and do it right, and if we have a clear vision and work our butts off - and I know the ECB will - then in 10 years we will have something incredible."

Survey results

100

Percentage of players hoping Indian leagues will be structured within the Future Tours Program.

36

Number of players approached to play in one of the Indian leagues.

56

Percentage of players who think Twenty20 threatens longer formats.

60

Players out of 334 who would sign up for ICL knowing a ban was in place.

31

Percentage who expect Test skills to suffer because of Twenty20.