Meeting hints at thaw in cricket pay dispute

THE ice has been broken in cricket’s chilly pay war after members of the two negotiating teams met in Melbourne last week to work on moving the crisis closer to resolution.

Australia’s Moises Henriques says it’s time for ‘a little bit of give’ in pay talks.

THE ice has been broken in cricket’s chilly pay war after members of the two negotiating teams met in Melbourne last week to work on moving the crisis closer to resolution.

Cricket Australia executive general manager Kevin Roberts, the man behind CA’s pay proposal, sat down with two representatives from the Australian Cricketers Association for just under an hour last Tuesday.

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With ACA boss Alistair Nicholson still in the UK, where he addressed Australian players on the situation, the association’s general counsel Joe Connellan, a member of the negotiating team, took the meeting.

John Whelan, a mediation lawyer who has been helping the ACA, was also present but it was not a mediation session according to sources close to the negotiations.

In what has been called a small but positive step, the two parties did not specifically discuss the details of the next Memorandum of Understanding, but worked on creating a process for more meetings after months of no talks on the dispute.

Australia’s cricketers will be out of contract after June 30, which is just over three weeks away, and rather than talk in recent months both CA and the ACA have fired vitriolic barbs back and forth, each claiming the other party was the reason behind the lack of negotiation.

But last week Aussie all-rounder Moises Henriques, who is on the ACA executive, said it was time for a “little bit of give” from both parties, a call which we now know came as the lines of communication reopened and the two parties met.

The coming together attempted to set up a schedule for more meetings, which should begin with Nicholson’s return to Australia.

Moises Henriques (left) says it’s time for both sides to give ground in pay talks.

While it remains unlikely a completed MOU could be signed off by June 30, given the complex nature of the agreement which covers an array of matters and not just pay structures, last week’s movement could pave the way for a possible heads of agreement to be signed to avoid any need for CA to lock out the players.

The current MOU could be rolled over in the short term, or alternative contracting arrangements put in place to cover at least a planned Australia A tour of South Africa in July and August.

Australia’s next series, after the Champions Trophy, is a Test tour to Bangladesh in August.

CA chief executive James Sutherland is due in the UK on the weekend, but it’s unknown if he will directly address the MOU issues with the players, having said previously he didn’t want to distract them.

In London on Saturday Aussie opener Dave Warner stood by his earlier comments that CA “might not have a team for the Ashes” if they didn’t start negotiations.

But he also said all the players were supportive of moves to get a deal done sooner rather than later.

“I stick firm behind it (Ashes comments). If we’re unemployed and have no contracts we can’t play,” warner said.

“From my point of view, and speaking to the guys, we would like to see something happen between now and July 1. It’s I the capable hands of the ACA to get the table with CA and come to some sort of an agreement.”