'It's cut-throat' - what is it like to be a second XI cricketer?
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- Sheridon Gumbs spent 18 months on trial at Leicestershire with no contract, earning only the UK daily minimum wage of just over £100 a day plus expenses, before signing a three-and-a-half-year deal days before The Hundred began.
- Leicestershire second XI coach Dips Patel connected with Gumbs through his brother Shelvin, a former Loughborough Town teammate, and had tracked the batter since watching him train in the nets with his father Wilson as a junior.
- Gumbs scored 49 on his first-class debut against Essex in June and contributed to Leicestershire's first County Championship top-flight victory in 8,318 days against Yorkshire the following week.
- The Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) introduced guidelines with first-class counties before 2021 after clubs previously had no obligation to pay trialists at all, though the first five days of any trial period still go unpaid.
- PCA director of cricket operations Rich Hudson described second XI cricket as a 'melting pot' of professionals returning from injury, academy prospects seeking contracts, and trialists 'fighting for their life' to earn a professional deal.
- The pay contrast is stark: while Gumbs toiled at the daily minimum wage, The Hundred's top earner Harry Brook pockets £465,000 for a month's work in the rival competition.
- Other second XI journeymen have taken similar paths: Kashif Ali spent four or five years on trials across multiple counties before establishing himself at Worcestershire, and Essex pace bowler Jamie Porter worked as a recruitment consultant while playing second XI cricket.
Why it matters: Second XI cricket operates as a parallel labor market where aspiring professionals earn the £100 daily minimum wage for 18 months with no contract guarantee, while The Hundred stars like Harry Brook earn £465,000 for a month. The PCA's 2021 guidelines still leave the first five days of any trial unpaid, preserving significant club leverage over young talent like Gumbs.
