VTCA cricket: Salary cap to be investigated as potential measure to bridge gap between best and the rest

THE Victorian Turf Cricket Association is considering the introduction of a salary cap, with evidence suggesting some players have been offered $25,000 or more for one season.

THE Victorian Turf Cricket Association is considering the introduction of a salary cap, with evidence suggesting some players have been offered $25,000 or more for one season.

While the measures would not come into force this year, the association is seeking to implement an “exploratory committee” to further investigate how a salary cap would work in local cricket.

VTCA president Steve McNamara said the association would consult with competitions such as the Essendon District Football League and the AFL which already have a spending limit in place.

McNamara said some clubs had raised concerns about the gap between the competition’s premier and lower-ranked teams.

“Over the last seven or eight years, since we implemented the points cap, I think that has reduced that somewhat,” he said.

Yarraville Club and Doutta Stars contested the VTCA Senior Division grand final in 2017-18.

“There’s still clearly a large gap from the top to the bottom, hence we are thinking from a board level, let’s explore the possibility of a salary cap.”

He said the “capacity to audit” clubs would need to be considered, adding “we hear from clubs saying that (they) spoke to player X and this club had offered him $25,000”.

“I am keen to explore further with discussions into these associations that have salary caps,” he said.

“How much scope you have to be able to conduct audits and how much power. You would certainly need forensic accountants I would have thought.”

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McNamara was reluctant to comment on the scope of a possible salary cap or the current spending levels of clubs, which he said “would only be hearsay and rumour”.

“If there was a salary cap, it would have to be mandated across each grade as to what that salary cap would be,” he said.

“The quality of player you would need at Senior Division wouldn’t be the same you would need at North B1.

“You would certainly look at a lower salary cap.”

As of Thursday, more than 75 per cent of the 135 respondents to a social media poll by the VTCA said they favoured a salary cap being implemented.

“We haven’t explored too far into it at this point because we think it’s an area for the exploratory committee to delve into the specifics,” McNamara said.