Cricket Australia desperate to resolve monetary issues, comes up with new proposition

Among the many controversies jeopardising the balance in the cricketing world currently, the revenue sharing problems in Australian cricket has taken a fresh turn. In a desperate attempt to resolve the ongoing feud with the players, Cricket Australia is attempting to pitch a revised remuneration model to the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA).

This move has come in at the brink of the deadline on 30th of June, post with the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is set to expire. According to reports, in a letter sent on Friday (June 23rd) by Kevin Roberts, CA’s Executive General Manager, to the ACA, a revised offer will include all domestic players having a share of the game’s surplus and increases their annual pay rises.

Heart of the problem                                             

The CA and ACA have been embroiled in this standoff, ever since the CA aired its controversial proposition to scrap the existing revenue sharing model. The current model has been followed for the past 20 years. But it is not an option anymore, according to the Australian board. The ACA has slammed this move and refused to play along with the overhauling of the previous pay model, leading to friction between the two bodies.

Why is CA revising its stand now?

The existing MoU is set to expire at the end of this month, following which, from the 1st of July, Australian men and women cricketers would be essentially unemployed. This is bound to throw the entire cricketing system down under off the wagon, and create absolute chaos.

Further, there are several cricketers who have reportedly threatened to move their cricketing interests elsewhere. With cash-rich tournaments like the South Africa’s new T20 league being on the rise, or exhibition matches, they are bound to have several options wide open in front of them. This would mean nothing but doom for Australian cricket. Eager to avoid tumult, CA is trying hard to make peace.

The revised offer:

Roberts, in his letter addressed to the ACA, wrote, “CA is now offering to: increase the international cricket surpluses that are shared with players; include all domestic players in the sharing arrangements, and increase annual pay rises to male state players (with commensurate increases for WNCL (Women’s National Cricket League) and WBBL (Women’s Big Bash League) players to maintain gender pay).”

CA intends to include the players in sharing the remunerations rather than receiving a flat paycheck- one of the principal demand of the ACA. Also, the governing body has said that they’d increase $20 million cap on the share of international cricket surplus to include all domestic players.

Roberts said that the board has contemplated on the issue of player dissatisfaction with the insufficient revenues being offered to them. He further added, “On a related matter and as previously advised, contract offers are being distributed to all players to give them an opportunity to seek advice. These contracts are conditional upon a new MoU being agreed. If further increases in pay are agreed for male state players, along with WNCL and WBBL players due to the increases contemplated above, the offers in the contracts would be varied accordingly.”