Josh Tongue was quick to discuss Worcestershire’s role in winning their first Test match for England against Ireland at Lord’s this week, but it remains to be seen if he will still be in the county in 2024.
Tongue is the first Worcestershire player to make a men’s Test debut for England since Moeen Ali in 2014, saying on Tuesday that his debut would be “a huge thing” for the club. “There are a lot of people in Worcester who have influenced my career,” he added.
But Tongue is among a number of Worcestershire players whose county deals will end this year and June 1, the day of his debut, also marks the date when county cricketers whose contracts expire at the end of a season are free to speak to other clubs.
Jack Haynes, the 22-year-old batsman, is also out of contract this season, and losing either player would be a heavy blow for Worcestershire. Both Haynes and Tongue are graduates of the club’s academy and were part of the Lions’ tour from England to Sri Lanka earlier this year.
Worcestershire have enjoyed a strong start to the 2023 season on the ground – they are third in Division Two of the County Championship with two wins from six and have won all three of their T20 Blast games to date.
But outside of that, they are in a state of flux. The club reported an annual loss of just over £200,000 by 2022 and its financial health depends on ECB distributions, which account for around 60% of its annual revenue.
The club announced its intention to appoint a director of cricket in July 2022, but the role remains vacant, with Paul Pridgeon, the head of its ‘cricket management group’, an unpaid role, in charge of contract negotiations with the players and their representatives.
On the other hand, several players who have been part of recent England teams are out of contract. James Bracey and David Payne’s deals with Gloucestershire expire at the end of the year, while Dan Lawrence, who was released today from the England Test squad for T20 Blast duty, is in the final year of his deal with Essex and Jordan Cox. It is in the same situation in Kent.
Matt Parkinson, who made his Test debut a year ago this week, left the Lancashire Championship side earlier this year and is also in the final year of his contract. He is now free to talk to other counties while he weighs his future.
Parkinson played one game on loan at Durham earlier this year, but it is believed that they fielded his twin brother Callum as their main spin bowling target as they relied on foreign spinners in the Championship this season.
The opening of county cricket’s ‘transfer window’ comes at a time when player contracts are under discussion, with cricket directors recently calling for an “urgent” review of the standard 12-month contract due to the proliferation of English players involved in the franchise. tournaments around the world.
