LONDON, April 2: England cricket chiefs revealed on Tuesday they will have to cut costs by four million pounds (US$6.3 million) in the wake of the national team’s boycott of their World Cup match in Zimbabwe.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tim Lamb hinted the move was a result of repercussions from England’s boycott of their preliminary round World Cup match in Zimbabwe six weeks ago.

The ICC subsequently withheld 2.3 million pounds of World Cup money from English cricket and it is that shortfall which appears to have already forced the ECB to take action.

It emerged after Tuesday’s meeting of the First Class Forum that each of England’s 18 fully-professional counties are likely to lose 30,000 pounds ($47,300) of their annual funding this year.—AFP