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England bowler Mark Wood could decline a central contract in pursuit of franchise cricket \u2013 as Michael Atherton declared the Test format of the game is \u201cwithering in front of our eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wood, 33, may miss the first three matches of England\u2019s five-Test tour in India \u2013 which starts on January 25 \u2013 after being offered a reported \u00a3500,000 to play in the UAE T20 league.<\/p>\n
Wood, who starred for England in the recent Ashes series and set a new record for the fastest over in an international match at Headingley, has stated he is keen to continue playing for his country.<\/p>\n
But in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Wood said: \u201cI don\u2019t know what will happen at the minute. Playing both (India Tests and Dubai T20) is not a viable option for England.<\/p>\n
\u201cEngland will want me to be there for all the five Tests, not just part-time or some of it. I will wait and see what happens with the up-and-coming central contracts and then make a decision from there.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAt the minute the World Cup is a massive focus, the other thing is my agent and Rob Key knows where I stand. I love playing for England, I want to play for England as long as I can, but it just depends on what they say.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut time away from home, the financial side of things now, there are more things in play than just solely my love of playing for England.\u201d<\/p>\n
The England and Wales Cricket Board is set to table a number of multi-year contracts to stave off interest from T20 franchises.<\/p>\n
But it has been reported that the governing body is struggling to compete with big-money offers from the IPL-backed leagues.<\/p>\n
Writing in the Times, former England captain Atherton, 55, said: \u201cFor as long as I have been writing in this space \u2014 essentially since the advent of the Indian Premier League in 2007 \u2014 there have been warnings about the threat to Test and international cricket.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt times, in those early days, it felt like a howl in the dark, although now it is generally accepted that the five-day game and bilateral international cricket is withering in front of our eyes.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt seemed clear to me that the advent of the free market through the rise of franchise cricket, and the popularity of T20, was both a huge opportunity and, unless some careful thought was given to how the game was structured, a threat to the established norms. It needed some foresight, wisdom and planning, all of which have proved to be sadly lacking.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t write about it so much now, partly to avoid being seen as a bore, but also because I think it\u2019s too late. The game has been set on a path from which there is no evident will, from anyone, to divert.\u201d<\/p>\n