Cricketers to be asked to take a 25 per cent pay cut

National and state cricketers look set to be asked to take a 25 per cent pay cut when contracts start to roll out next week

Cricket Australia boss Kevin Roberts says the media is misrepresenting the situation

National and state cricketers look set to be asked to take a 25 per cent pay cut when contracts start to roll out next week. But like the states who are being asked to endure a similar cut in funding, they are not happy and likely to push back.

The states have been told their cuts will be greater if the summer does not go as planned.

A week ago cricket, apparently immune to the virus destroying winter sports, was enjoying a holiday drive on deserted back roads. Then a screech of brakes. Passengers, having flown through the front window, found themselves sitting, bleeding on the road.

When asked what had happened, the driver told those with contusions and confusions he’d hit the brakes to avoid trouble ahead.

A week later, most are still scratching their heads. Kevin Roberts, the man at the steering wheel and chief executive of Cricket Australia, insists there was a warning. He is adamant the game was about to have a head-on crash and while he regrets the pain caused, claims it was necessary.

Harsh, pre-emotive action was necessary he claims.

It is true that if the summer of cricket does not eventuate the game will be in a world of pain. That’s got to be $400m out of the budget straight up, but that is down the road and round the bend.

Those who flew through the windscreen, the coaches, staff, states and potentially players, were baffled by the panic and remain so.

On Wednesday Roberts revealed on SEN he was asking Woolworths to help hire those asked to stand down. If you see Justin Langer packing shelves at the Subiaco supermarket in the coming days remember it is not his fault they’re out of toilet paper.

Roberts said the head coach was not that busy at this time of year. “Even with Justin’s part-time level it’s fair to say the activities of the men’s national team at this point in time don’t fill all his time,” he said.

“We are about engaging with Justin and other people to do thing outside their day-to-day roles to be done during this period.”

A lot of staff are on contracts that end with the financial year and are concerned about their future.

The staff have been reduced to 20 per cent of their pay with a guarantee it will be topped up to $750 a week if it is less than that until the end of the financial year. Presumably Langer will not need a top-up.

Roberts, as reported in The Australian, had asked the states to take a 45 per cent hair cut on their annual grants — the money head office collects for them and distributes according to a schedule set in place several years ago.

That was rejected and he has come back with an offer to cut the distributions down by 25 per cent, but that too is being resisted.

Roberts indicated on Wednesday the players would not be asked to take a bigger haircut than anybody else (aside from the staff). So, presumably they will be asked to take 25 per cent less in the contracts that are handed out to national players next week and state players after that.

“We’ve got work to continue doing with the ACA and the players — and we’ve got some reasonable benchmarks in place in terms of a 25 per cent cost reduction at Cricket Australia,” Roberts said.

The Australian Cricketers Association, like the states, wants more forensic detail about the current state of the books and says it has received no feedback on earlier proposals to share the pain.

The Australian understands that the 25 per cent proposal to the states is a starting figure. It will get worse if events unfold that way.

Possible scenarios include India not touring, India touring without a crowd or possibly no cricket at all.

At this stage there are four Tests planned. It has not been announced, but India will play the first match in Brisbane and Perth will miss out. There is a suggestion India could be asked to play five Tests.

Roberts has dismissed talk of an uprising brewing among unhappy state associations.