Essex chief grateful for players' generosity

Essex's chief executive David East has praised his club's players for stumping up with the cash to fund their pre-season tour of Abu Dhabi.

A lack of money had forced Essex to abandon their trip to the Middle East, but the players donated their £75,000 winter payment grant - which was to be split equally among them - in order to keep the trip alive.

A source close to the team had earlier indicated to Cricinfo that Essex's senior squad members were not entirely happy about being asked to contribute £2500 a head for the two-week tournament, which also features Lancashire, Surrey, Sussex, Yorkshire and Middlesex. As one player reportedly put it: "I don't spend that sort of money to go on holiday with my girlfriend, let alone to go to work."

East, though, has hailed the players' determination and commitment. "They felt this was incredibly important for their preparation," he told BBC Sport. "We had no wish to cancel [the tour], but we had to make a budget decision and we're delighted we've been able to come to an arrangement at the players' suggestion and we're cracking on."

Despite the players' generosity, East insisted that it was no reflection on the club's financial situation.

"I don't think one should read anything into this in terms of the financial stability of county cricket, that's simply not the case. It's just that this is a very challenging time for us personally."