Ben Stokes has hit out at reports claiming that several England cricketers have refused to take pay cuts amid the coronavirus crisis which has threatened to bring severe implications on the worldโ€™s economy. With the global financial market falling due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, most companies, including sports associations, have imposed temporary pay cuts on their employees to survive the ravages of the pandemic. But reports had claimed that โ€˜Englandโ€™s centrally contracted cricket players had refused to accept the temporary pay cut as part of the sport's efforts to combat the challenges set by the COVID-19 pandemic.โ€™ย Ben Stokes Shuts Down Troll Who Made Derogatory Remark Against England All-Rounder Over His Plan to Play IPL Amid Coronavirus Outbreak.

According to a report from ESPNCricinfo, Englandโ€™s cricketers had declined the cricket boardโ€™s offer of accepting a pay cut as the world comes to terms with the difficult economic situation prevailing due to the pandemic. โ€œThe ECB understood they could not compel the players to accept a pay cut, they had hoped they might volunteer one as a "gesture" in an unprecedented crisis. But, after receiving a less than enthusiastic response to the idea, in a media conference on March 31, Harrison said the ECB "are not seeking pay cuts from England players,โ€ said the report quoting Tom Harrison, England Cricket Boardโ€™s chief executive.ย Yuvraj Singh Responds to Trolls Targeting Him for Supporting Shahid Afridi, Says โ€˜Will Always Stand for Humanityโ€™.

Ben Stokes' Response

But Stokes quashed all such reports. โ€œThis is utter lies George,โ€ he said replying to George Dobell, a senior correspondent at ESPNCricinfo, who had published the report. The report also stated that the media house were in possession of a copy of the letter in which Harrison wrote to Tony Irish informing him about the playerโ€™s decision and also requesting to discuss the matter. Tony Irish is the chief executive of the England cricketโ€™s players union.

Headline, Headline and Headline

The matter, however, did not end there and when the reporter told the Stokes that he had actually sent the all-rounder a copy of the letter, Stokes brought up the issue of the storyโ€™s headline. The headline of the story initially read โ€˜Englandโ€™s centrally contracted players decide against temporary pay cutโ€™ but was changed later.

The World Cup-winning all-rounder had also urged fans to read articles more than the headlines when his comment about the Indian Premier League (IPL) was blown out of proportion. In an interview with BBC, Stokes had mentioned that he wants to be fit and ready to play whenever the IPL starts but those comments were circulated in a twisted manner leading to fans trolling the England Test vice-captain for thinking to play cricket amid such catastrophic situation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 01, 2020 06:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).