England cricketers seeking contracts to last until 2013 Ashes

London, Apr 23(ANI): The England players are seeking to nail contracts with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which will take them through to the Ashes summer of 2013, rather than negotiating them annually.

Twenty20 skipper Paul Collingwood and his team-mates have refused to sign deals offered to them last September, and will fly to the West Indies for the Twenty20 World Cup without any official pay deal.

They also want to ensure that players, who miss tours to rest, like Andrew Strauss and James Anderson did for the Bangladesh series recently, do not suffer financially.

"They're trying to get a good deal, but are not being greedy. We're trying to put a framework for contracts in place for a few years," The Sun quoted Angus Porter, Professional Cricketers' Association Chief Executive, as saying.

"The identity of players might change in that time, but the framework won't. The annual round of negotiations as it stands is not productive," he added. (ANI)