Pay dispute sees Australia players lose over $1M in fortnight

The Australian cricketers have already lost over A$1M in their salaries after a fortnight of them going off-contract. The players went off contract after Cricket Australia and the Australia Cricketers’ Association (ACA) failed to come to a negotiated term regarding the pay dispute. CA Chief James Sutherland is confident of coming to terms with the players sometime soon in the near future.

However, the players believe that a lot of work still needs to be done in regard to their contracts. Sutherland has been having intense discussions with ACA Chief Alistair Nicholson. While the ACA is keen on continuing with the revenue sharing model that was in place up until June 30, the CA is keen on revamping the structure. The revamped structure would certainly see a visible decline in the salaries of players and hence the players are not very supportive of it.

In the meantime, Nicholson has also cited urgency in the matter saying that the players have been unemployed for close to a fortnight now. “The increased involvement of CA CEO James Sutherland has been pleasing. A better understanding has been established on both parties’ positions,” he quoted as per the quotes in Stuff.co.nz.

The negotiations are expected to get underway again from Monday. Meanwhile, the players seem to moving on a track of absolute rebellion. Fast bowler Mitch Starc has signed up with car manufacturing company Audi. Audi is a rival to Toyota, the official car company of the Cricket Australia. Batsman Usman Khawaja has also struck a similar deal.

Urgency to resolve conflict

The urgency to resolve the issue can be felt on both fronts. For the players, there are about 200 players left uncontracted at the moment. On the other hand, the board is facing crisis situations with international tours lined up in future. The Australia A tour of South Africa has already been scrapped due to this reason.

Now, the Bangladesh tour, scheduled to take place next month, is under threat. Similarly, the ODI series against India and the big time Ashes are also under the threat of being boycotted by the cricketers.