Cricket’s pay dispute took another step towards open war

A CONCERNING escalation in cricket’s “slow motion car crash” pay dispute has seen Aussie cricket dip its toes further over the edge of all out war.

Worlds apart.

CRICKET Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association dipped their toes further over the edge of all out war on Wednesday.

In a concerning sign, the disputing parties responded to the AFL’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement announcement by further fortifying their trenches.

The AFL announced a new deal on Tuesday which will see the wages of an AFL player skyrocket $60,000 this year in a bumper six-year deal worth $1.84 billion.

The key part of the agreement is that players’ wages will be tied to industry revenue — which is exactly what Aussie cricketers are trying to hold on to in their CBA dispute.

Cricket Australia and the Cricketers’ Association both issued press releases following the AFL’s pay agreement in a bid to promote their views on how similar the footy deal is to their own sticking point.

The press releases at 20 paces shows there is no resolution in sight for Aussie cricket despite Cricket Australia announcing a schedule and squad for the two-Test tour to Bangladesh

Steve Smith and fellow stars will be out of contract at the end of this month and the ongoing pay dispute is no closer to a resolution.

There were discussions this week between Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) but the revenue-sharing model issue remained the stumbling block.

Loggerheads.

CA has outlined its desire to scrap the model that has shaped players’ salaries for 20 years, wanting greater flexibility. Players have declared they will do whatever it takes to ensure that does not happen.

The Cricketers’ Association’s public media release on Wednesday congratulated the AFL and its players on agreeing to tie players’ salaries to the revenue generated by the game.

In response Cricket Australia also congratulated the AFL for coming to terms with an agreement it claims is similar to the terms Cricket Australia has put to the ACA in their own negotiations.

The two parties continue to butt heads over all negotiation flashpoints and commentators believe it is heading down a dangerous path.

Two sides trade press releases as Australian cricket's slow motion car crash gathers speed. (And they said it wouldn't get ugly!) AIRBAGS!!! pic.twitter.com/H31VvbXCdq

— Peter Lalor (@plalor) June 21, 2017

It is true the pay share model introduced by AFL is well short of the cricket one. https://t.co/ctXXm9lZTZ

— Peter Lalor (@plalor) June 21, 2017

Having literally taken every page from the AFL administrative playbook, this might be a tough pill to swallow for CA... https://t.co/cSuscCvvsn

— Ed Cowan (@eddiecowan) June 20, 2017

Such is the stalemate in Australian cricket, vice-captain David Warner has warned the Ashes could be in doubt.

A keen observer of Tuesday’s AFL announcement, the Australian Cricketers Association did not waste an opportunity to take a thinly-veiled swipe at Cricket Australia.

“Partnership works — that’s the message. And it’s what the AFL and the AFLPA are starting to embrace,” ACA chief Alistair Nicholson said.

“What these two parties are trying to achieve is what cricket has enjoyed for 20 years.

“The AFL is at a different stage of evolving the partnership than cricket. But what’s clear is that this sense of co-operation is the way to go.”

The existing pay deal deadline is less than two weeks away and Australia’s Test squad is due to land on August 18 in Bangladesh.

The tour risks becoming a farce if CA and the ACA can’t agree on a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), or a suitable temporary measure, before then.

“The players love representing their country and want nothing more than to get that opportunity against Bangladesh,” Nicholson said.

“But the reality is all international players are unemployed come 1st July if there is no MoU in place; Cricket Australia seem to be ignoring this reality.

The picket line has not been crossed.

“The players can’t tour if they are unemployed.

“We are committed to getting an MoU, including a revenue share for all players, finalised by June 30.”

Players might also harbour security concerns. The advice from Foreign Affairs is for citizens to “reconsider your need to travel” to Bangladesh. The series was originally planned for 2015. It was delayed because of advice on the risk of a terrorist attack on Australian nationals.

England toured Bangladesh last year without incident. Australia have been guaranteed the same level of ‘head of state’ security.

“Players selected for this tour will continue to receive regular security status updates prior to travelling,” CA high-performance manager Pat Howard said.

“The Bangladesh Cricket Board and the Bangladesh government have provided satisfactory levels of assurance and security for this tour to proceed at this stage.

“We will continue to work with them to finalise plans but also monitor advice from government agencies and our own security advisors.

“Our number one priority will always be the safety and security of our players and support staff.”

— with AAP

Originally published as Cricket’s pay dispute took another step towards open war