Almost a fifth of English cricketers claim they will be prepared to face a 12-month county ban for the chance to take part in the next Indian Cricket League.

A total of 60 current first-class players have told the Professional Cricketers' Association they would risk incurring an England and Wales Cricket Board suspension, should the ICL come calling.

The alarming statistic, one of many quoted in the PCA's anonymous survey of 334 players, raises the prospect that the threat posed to the English game by the rise of big-money contracts on offer from Indian Twenty20 cricket may be still greater than many already fear.

The ECB have made it clear they will take a punitive view of any player who chooses to join the rebel ICL - although no such statement has been made with regard to the riches to be made by signing up for the more officially-sanctioned Indian Premier League.

Dimitri Mascarenhas is the only English player to take part in the inaugural IPL, which began this month.

A clutch of recent England players were involved in the first ICL but, after assurance they would not be retrospectively banned for that, were not tempted to turn out again in the second.

The third tournament is scheduled to take place in the autumn.

The PCA today noted: "The restrictions put in place by the ECB prevent a player from participating in county cricket for 12 months if they play in the next unauthorised' ICL tournament in October.

"But 18 per cent (60) said that they would sign up for ICL knowing there was a ban in place."

That body of apparently eager recruits represents a potentially significant rebellion from a domestic structure which employs around 400 professional players.

In the still bigger picture, the PCA survey confirms that the cream - as well as rank and file - of English cricket are certain to be tempted by the lure of Indian money.

l Rain prevented any play on the scheduled third day of the LV County Championship Division One match between Lancashire and Somerset at Old Trafford.

After several inspections, the umpires finally abandoned play at 4.15pm.