Cricket Australia's Mark Taylor says the coming tours are on schedule

The much-talked subject once again came to limelight after former Australian captain and present board director of Cricket Australia (CA) Mark Taylor took a stance on the ongoing dispute between CA and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA). Taylor believes that the present disruptions will not lead to any cancellation as far as the upcoming tours of Bangladesh and much important Ashes series against England is concerned.

He revealed that a new MoU is in the process of being drafted which is away from ‘public’ notice. While emphasising the urgent need to arrive at a point of intersection and conclude the ongoing tussle. He also stated that the scenario that is prevailing at present is not in best interest of the game.

Speaking at an event organized by Channel Nine, Taylor said, “We’ve got to get together, we’ve got to sort this out and hopefully sooner rather than later,” he mentioned as 230-odd professional men’s and women’s cricketers in the country remained firm about their decision to not play for any teams under CA until a fresh MOU was in place.

“But I’m very confident we’ll have a side for the Ashes, and I’m also very confident we’ll have a side to go to Bangladesh which is only in a month’s time. There’s obviously been a lot of conjecture and speculation about what’s going on. There is stuff going on behind the scenes, there are discussions. Obviously, the stuff that people are reading and hearing is not great for the game. Not good for Cricket Australia, not great for the ACA either,” Taylor said.

Believes ‘mess’ will clear soon

The lapse of previous MoU on June 30 led to a lot of revelations and many designated themselves as unemployed. However, the former Test opener, who has held the posit the on of board of director since year 2004 believes that the ‘mess’ would clear soon.

Sounding very optimistic, he further went on to say that, “I think we all have to be adult about it. It’s a big game these days. Players are fully professional. Cricket boards are trying to do what they think is right for the game in general, so there’s going to be times when you disagree and that’s where we are at the moment. But I think both sides have to work towards finding a resolution which is in the best interests of the game and the players,” he added.

“There’s ongoing discussions and that’s about all I’m going to say, I don’t think people here need to know more than that. But I like to think I’m a positive person – we’ll have Ashes cricket this year,” Taylor mentioned.

The Ashes is scheduled to get underway in Brisbane on November 23, but before that, Australia are due to touch down in Bangladesh on August 18 for a two-Test series.

“From a game point of view, it’s far from ideal. We are in July, the Ashes are still four months away, but the Bangladesh tour is only a month away,” Taylor conceded. “The quicker we can get it resolved the better, the quicker we can move on and rebuild the relationship [that] I think is important between CA and the ACA. The quicker we can start rebuilding that, I think that’ll be good for the game.”