A third of the players who have represented England recently have told the players' union that they would consider retiring prematurely from international cricket to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and spend more time with their families. More than 50 other county cricketers have said that they would like to play in the unauthorised Indian Cricket League (ICL) in defiance of an ECB ban.

As talks between the ECB and Sir Allen Stanford, the billionaire Texan investor, about the future of the English Twenty20 game continued into the weekend, the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) has revealed the results of a survey of all 334 cricketers on the county circuit. Thirty-six players, including overseas and Kolpak players as well as those qualified for England, said that they had been approached to play in the two Indian leagues, with the majority being targeted by the ICL.

The ECB, under pressure from the Indian board, has tried to restrict players competing in the ICL, which has staged two Twenty20 competitions and plans another tournament in October. Last month it was announced that any player who competes in the ICL will be banned from county cricket for 12 months. However, the PCA's survey revealed that 60 county cricketers would sign for the ICL despite the ban and a further 90 said that they were unsure.

Of biggest concern for the ECB is that 35 per cent of the recent England players in the confidential survey said that they would consider retiring prematurely from international cricket to play in the IPL. A similar number of England players, although it is unclear if it is the same players, believe that one-day internationals will in time be replaced by Twenty20 matches.

Sean Morris, the chief executive of the PCA, said that his union does not support restrictions on where players can earn a living outside the English season. That is backed up by the revelation in the survey that 89 per cent of players support freedom of movement. “From a player's point of view, the more alternative opportunities there are for work the better,” he said, adding that players should consider that if the ICL was strangled out of existence by restrictions then it would mean that, without competition, salaries in the IPL would decrease.

“There are issues with the ICL,” Morris said. “It's unregulated and doesn't have the anti-doping and anti-corruption policies we'd like in place, but let's be honest, nor do some of the Test countries.”

He added that it would have been good if a test case had been brought against the ECB's ban, but that it was unlikely to take place this season with most of the players who had been threatened with a ban after playing in the last ICL now being allowed to play county cricket this season. “One thing we don't want to see is cricketers in court but the legal case would have helped everyone if it had been tested,” Morris said. “I don't think anyone in the authorities wanted it to go to court as if a restraint of trade had been ruled, it would have breathed a lot of life into the ICL.”

The ECB and Stanford hoped to sign a memorandum of understanding yesterday to set up a series of five Twenty20 matches between England and a West Indies “Stanford Superstars” side, in Antigua, with the winners taking $20 million (about £10million) for each match.

Final talks over the agreement, which will also create a five year, four-team international tournament at Lords, worth $10million, are continuing this weekend. A source close to Stanford said: “Everything is very positive but it's taking time to dot the final i's and cross the final t's.”

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