Cricket: Concern over contracts

The Professional Cricketers' Association plans talks with the England and Wales Cricket Board in an attempt to resolve discrepancies in the present contract system, following Chris Adams' registration campaign.

Adams successfully appealed to the Registration Standing Committee on Tuesday to enable him to be downgraded from a List One player to List Two, which allows him complete freedom of movement.

But the controversy over the Adams case has highlighted the need for the players' union and cricket's hierarchy to discuss the contract regulations, after fears a Bosman-style challenge could have been mounted.

Having been released by Derbyshire, Adams and his agent Jonathan Barnett had threatened to challenge the system, had his appeal been rejected - an action which could have thrown cricket into turmoil.

Adams argued that if his registration had remained unchanged, his choice of future county would have been restricted, with the regulations stating that only two List One players can be signed by a county in a five-year period - a rule designed to protect the wealthier counties recruiting the best players.

Adams now has 14 days to negotiate with other counties, although he is unable to sign a new contract in that period after the Committee ordered a fortnight's "cooling off'' period.

But while Adams celebrated, Yorkshire's Alex Morris was denied an identical request to be downgraded after a lack of first-team opportunities. However, Leicestershire's Adrian Pierson was allowed a move to List Two status.