Warner deal close but quicks unlikely

David Warner has won a ground-breaking BBL contract, but attention now turns to Australian Test captain Pat Cummins and his fast-bowling colleagues.

Australian Test captain Pat Cummins is unlikely to play in the Big Bash League due to a packed Test calendar Picture: AFP

David Warner has won a ground-breaking BBL contract that raises the bar for local stars, but attention now turns to Australian Test captain Pat Cummins and his fast-bowling colleagues.

Warner has been offered a BBL contract above and beyond any previously offered as Cricket Australia acknowledges his importance to the competition ahead of a new broadcast negotiation. The opener would only be available for a handful of games this season, but his presence will more than counter the damage his absence would do to the reputation of the tournament.

A similar motivation has resulted in the Australian Cricketers Association agreeing to special contracts for select overseas players for the 2023 season alone.

Meanwhile, Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are unlikely to be among the high-profile names who avail themselves of the January break to play in the BBL.

The window made available by South Africa cancelling its ODI series will become enshrined in the calendar from next summer, but the quicks are more likely to be resting weary legs after the Test summer and in anticipation of crowded fixtures thereafter.

With nine Test matches scheduled in just over three months, the bowlers will be looking for every chance to put their feet up and are usually given a rest during the ODIs in that month.

Batters are a different prospect, so much so that Steve Smith wanted to play last year but was prevented by the other states who resented him appearing for the Sixers.

CA chief executive Nick Hockley worked with Warner to encourage the player to turn down around $700,000 a year to play in the privately owned UAE International League next January.

ACA CEO Todd Greenberg has also been actively involved in the process.

Speaking exclusively on The Australian’s Cricket Et Cetera podcast, he said he was confident a deal had been reached and all players understood that their interests lay in making the 2023 BBL as good as possible.

“It has been an interesting topic of discussion for a couple of weeks now,” Greenberg said. “As we sit here this morning (Monday), I am very hopeful David will play BBL and I am hopeful that all of our best Australian cricketers will play in it.

“There’s a variety of reasons why. There’s absolutely no doubt that someone like David and others of his ilk could earn more in the coming Australian summer if they were to ply their trade overseas, but there’s a much broader discussion and a bigger picture we are trying to solve here and that’s the discussion I am having with several of our players this week.”

Chris Lynn is another high-profile player keen to earn big money in the UAE after losing his BBL contract following 11 years with the Brisbane Heat.

Usman Khawaja rejected an offer from the UAE and signed with Brisbane following a long ­period with Sydney Thunder.

Greenberg said the players understood that under the revenue share model, which Cricket Australia tried to destroy in 2017, the bigger price the BBL fetches the more money available for everybody. He believes the situation highlights the benefits of a partnership model.

“These leagues we are talking about at the moment are competing with our Australian domestic summer and that is the first time we’ve faced this, it is a unique challenge,” Greenberg said.

“The second thing is that the reasons they enjoy the benefits and remunerations that they enjoy under this model is because of those that came before them.

“David and others understand … and are very conscious that if they play in this competition it increases the opportunity for the next broadcast deal to be secured at a higher number which maybe doesn’t benefit them specifically, but it benefits the next generation of Australian cricketers coming through.

“This is a real test of our players demonstrating the level of partnership.”

There has been, among some loyal Australian-based BBL participants, resentment of the big money on offer for international stars in the new draft.

“They understand they have to get the best players to play, which includes them and the best players from overseas, which is why we’ve agreed in this one-year deal to ensure that there is an international draft and salary cap – an opportunity to bring the best overseas players in,” he said.