Amateur and professional cricketers

Since the early Nineteenth century, cricket has gradually developed from an amateur recreational sport in England into a fully professional international sport from which leading players can earn a large income.

Earning a living from cricket

The earliest professional cricketers were the members of early nineteenth century touring teams. When county cricket began to formalise in the late 19th century, the counties also employed professionals. The better supported and therefore richer counties such as Surrey often had teams made up largely of professional players with an amateur captain, while poorer counties such as Somerset relied much more heavily on amateurs to allow them to field a team without going into the red. However, early professionals were paid a low weekly wage and during the off season, which could last for nearly eight months, most were left to fend for themselves and had to take whatever work they could get. A few played professional football in the winter. In order to provide cricketers with some financial security after their playing careers, the benefit system was developed, but this was generally a poor substitute for good wages and a pension

Related Topics:
County cricket - Surrey - Somerset - Football - Benefit system

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By the post Second World War period, most cricketers were on an fixed salary, but only for the summer months and until the 1970s, the earnings of professional cricketers were low. In England many cricketers needed to find other jobs over the winter to make ends meet, and in other countries with less demanding domestic cricket schedules most cricketers fitted their cricket in with study or a regular job. Things began to change in 1977 when cricket was shaken up the Australian media tycoon Kerry Packer. By offering cricketers higher wages than had ever been known in the sport before, Packer induced many of the world's most famous cricketers to abandon the official cricket competitions and play solely in a new competition called World Series Cricket which was broadcast by a television network which he owned. This was one of the biggest crises in the history of the sport, but it was patched up after a couple of years, when Packer's channel was granted the rights to official matches. The earnings of top cricketers from "official" cricket then began to escalate.

Related Topics:
Second World War - Media - Kerry Packer - World Series Cricket

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the early 21st century cricket is still not as lucrative as some other sports, but international cricketers typically earn several times the average salary in their country. Regular members of the English cricket team earn several hundred thousand pounds a year. However, the highest paid cricketers in the world are the star members of the Indian cricket team, who make most of their income from endorsement contracts. Cricket is the main sport in India, and the players are front rank celebrities, especially Sachin Tendulkar, who is the world's highest paid cricketer, with an income estimated by the Times of India in 2004 to be in excess of five million US dollars a year, nearly all of it from endorsements.

Related Topics:
21st century - English cricket team - Pounds - Indian cricket team - Endorsement contracts - Sachin Tendulkar - Times of India - 2004 - US dollars

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is also possible to earn an adequate annual income from domestic cricket in some countries, especially in England where the eighteen first class counties each employ about twenty players, most of whom earn at least the national average salary for the six month season, and some considerably more. Nonetheless many cricketers use the offseason to prepare for a post-cricket career.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~