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• ICC chief Wasim Khan accepts Tests and franchise leagues must learn to coexist

  Wasim Khan, the International Cricket Council general manager, accepts the landscape of the sport has changed as he urged countries and franchise leagues to find a way to “coexist”.

  Jason Roy last week became the first England player to cancel his national contract, an incremental deal worth between £60,000 and £70,000 per year, to pursue an opportunity in Major League Cricket in the United States, where he has reportedly been offered around £300,000 for two seasons.

  There has been speculation about the Indian Premier League offering annual contracts while the relevance of bilateral cricket keeps cropping up as internationals are crammed into an already busy programme.

  Khan admitted there is no putting the genie back in the bottle as the proliferation of domestic T20 competitions continues but he feels international cricket can live alongside these leagues.

  “Obviously the way the schedule is structured now and the emergence of these leagues, there has to be a way for us to coexist,” said Khan, the former chief executive of Leicestershire and Pakistan.

  “Nothing is going to be removed so we are going to have to coexist moving forward.”

  The growing unease about the possibility of elite talent putting club before country in future hangs over cricket ahead of the final of the World Test Championship happening next week at the Kia Oval.

  Khan, who expects “full crowds” for at least the first four days of the contest between India and Australia, thinks the format still holds some relevance and revealed the 12 full member nations have elected to keep hold of the World Test Championship for the next eight-year cycle.

  “The members have signed up for the next eight years,” said Khan. “We’ve heard some of the top stars from around the world continually talking about the importance of Test cricket.

  “We know that the emergence of these leagues does put pressure on the schedule but we’re confident that at least for the next eight years that continual context will be provided for red-ball cricket.

  “It’s important we continue to find an opportunity to coexist, to ensure our schedules moving forward provides something for everybody.”

  Ricky Ponting suggested earlier this month the ICC has a role to play in making sure players from smaller nations are well-remunerated in Test cricket so they do not go down the franchise route.

  Khan confirmed the former Australia captain’s assertion the issue had been brought up in a Cricket Committee meeting but was taken no further.

  “It was perhaps a misquote,” said Khan. “It was raised initially within the ICC Cricket Committee as a discussion point but there was certainly nothing taken forward around payments to players.”

  Khan, though, believes it is up to the boards of individual countries how much they pay players, pointing out all full member nations will receive a substantial increase on previous earnings during the new rights cycle from 2024-27.

  “The distributions the members will be receiving in the next cycle will be greater than what they received previously,” added Khan. “The payments they pay players is purely down to the members.

  “If there are player associations there, they will certainly be negotiating with those, but where there’s not, it’s down to the boards – and particularly with the key players within those boards – to decide what the payment structure looks like moving forward.”

• England door is always open for Raheem Sterling – Gareth Southgate

  Raheem Sterling was the headline absentee as Gareth Southgate handed Eberechi Eze his first England call-up and ended Lewis Dunk’s time in the international wilderness.

  Having kicked off Euro 2024 qualification with wins over Italy and Ukraine, attention turns to June’s straightforward-looking doubleheader against Malta and North Macedonia.

  Sterling is the most eye-catching absentee for those games as a difficult first season since swapping Manchester City for Chelsea comes to a frustrating conclusion.

  The 28-year-old has not played for England since the World Cup quarter-final exit to France – when a burglary at home disrupted his preparations – as injury ruled him out of the March camp.

  “I spoke with him a week or so ago – a general catch-up,” England boss Southgate said.

  “He’s not happy physically with his condition, having been carrying a hamstring problem. He really wasn’t in consideration.

  “So, we didn’t get to the point of whether he should be in or out. He doesn’t think he is operating at the level he needs.”

  A representative for Sterling called it a “mutual decision” that allows the player to focus on “recuperating his body in preparation for the upcoming season”.

  The 28-year-old is determined to play a key role for England next term and Southgate says he can get back into the fold ahead of next year’s finals, as can omitted Tottenham defender Eric Dier.

  “As we’ve shown with Tyrone (Mings) coming back (this time) and other players like Trent (Alexander-Arnold) coming back in, the door is always open when players are playing well,” Southgate told BBC Radio 5 Live.

  “Eric and Raheem both have physical issues really at the moment that they’re dealing with, so there’s part of that is behind that decision as well.

  “But there’s another year to go before the Euros and it’s possible for everybody to get in that squad.”

  Mings, Alexander-Arnold, Callum Wilson and Sam Johnstone returned to the England squad as Southgate has largely stuck with the tried and tested for the Group C games, with Crystal Palace attacking midfielder Eze the only uncapped player named in the group.

  The 24-year-old finally get his shot with England after an Achilles injury cost him a place in the provisional Euro 2020 squad.

  “We have liked him for a long time,” Southgate said.

  “He was very unfortunate just before the Euros. We were going to call him into a prep camp to have a look at him and he got a bad injury.

  “I remember talking to Roy Hodgson about him then and Roy telling me he’d picked up an injury in training that day.

  “I think he has finished the season really strongly, he can play in a couple of positions across that attacking line.

  “He’s a goal threat, he’s got nice ability and bursts of speed to go past people and to take people out of the game with dribbling skills.

  “We’re looking forward to seeing him a bit closer and everybody I speak to talks brilliantly about him as a person as well.”

  Dunk has played for England but the Brighton captain has not been selected since winning his first cap against the United States in November 2018.

  “Brighton’s football this year has been exceptional and Lewis Dunk and Levi Cowell have been a big part of that,” Southgate said.

  “He’s shown great composure with the ball, he’s asked to defend very often one against one situations and he thoroughly deserves his call.”

  The squad also includes Marcus Rashford, who missed March’s fixtures and last featured for England in a qualifier in the run to the last Euros.

  “He’s a super player who’s had a really good season, so he’s an important player for us,” Southgate told talkSPORT.

  “We’ve not been blessed with having him to be able to put in the team too often but we’re hoping that’s different. And we’re looking forward to seeing him again.”

  There is no place for Ben White, who has not featured for England since leaving Qatar after the World Cup group stage due to personal reasons.

  “I spoke with Ben before the camp in March,” Southgate added.

  “But at the moment, we’ve got (Kieran) Trippier and (Kyle) Walker in that area of the pitch.

  “He’s had a very good season, as have the whole Arsenal team, but he’s not ahead of those guys at the moment.”

• 2023 SDC National T20 Cricket Competition bowls off Sunday, May 21

  The 2023 SDC National T20 Cricket Competition’s parish-level games kickstart this Sunday, May 21 in the parish of St. Catherine with two games scheduled for Chedwin Park, St Catherine.

  Bushy Park-Church Pen will take on Ewarton Slazenger at 10:00 am to be followed by Greater Portmore vs Old Harbour Cricket Club at 2:00 pm.

  The following Sunday, on May 28th, the community of Buff Bay in the parish of Portland will come alive with games being played at the Charles Town Field.

  On Sunday, June 4, the district of Treadlight in Clarendon will host their set of round-robin matches at the Sir P Oval before things head west to Sav La Mar in Westmoreland where the parish semifinals will be played at the aptly name ground of Paradise.

  The tournament will culminate at Boscobel in St. Mary where the parish finals will be played on Sunday, June 18.

   Parish champions will receive JMD$120, 000 while first runners-up and second runners-up will receive JMD$60,000 and JMD$30, 000 respectively.

   Last year the Boscobel team emerged triumphant at the SDC/Wray & Nephew National T20 Cricket Competition when they won the title at the Port Rhoades Sports Club in Discovery Bay, St. Ann.