David Warner along with many other Australian players could miss Zimbabwe ODI series for The Hundred

Cricket Australia and its players are going head-on for a clash given that there is a chance of many big-name players giving an international series a miss in order to play in the inaugural edition of England and Wales Cricket Board’s newest format of the game, The Hundred. But with the Australian board scheduling an ODI series that clashes with the same dates have caused much friction.

The CA has arranged for a one-day international series against Zimbabwe alongside the same dates at which The Hundred will be played in England, in which several top Australian players have landed big-money contracts and are now conflicted between choosing to play for the country over honouring league commitments. This has led to an agent of an Australian player to slam the home board for creating such a conundrum.

David Warner delivered match-winning performance against India at Wankhede

James Erskine, the agent of opener David Warner has slammed the Cricket Australia for their conflicting scheduling by arranging an ODI series with dates clashing with The Hundred. “There was no cricket on at the time. “Cricket Australia can’t basically schedule retrospectively against the Hundred. There are lots of Australians who have made commitments to the Hundred. My gut feeling is they [players] will all turn around and say: ‘Find some other dates’,” Erskine was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald.

Warner had managed to pocket the maximum price tag of $236,000 at The Hundred draft in October where he was taken by the Southern Brave, based in Southampton. Along with Warner, many of his teammates might decide to skip the one-day series against Zimbabwe in order to participate in England’s lucrative new cricketing format.

“They have got to really think about what they are doing here. They have stuffed up their summer of cricket with a deal with India. They have got to be very careful with what they do. They are meant to be custodians of the game. Quite frankly, they have got to get their act together,” he added. The dates for Zimbabwe matches are yet to be finalized, but CA expects players to put national matches ahead of any league.

Apart from Warner, other players like Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, D’Arcy Short, Chris Lynn, Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Adam Zampa are some other Australians who have landed The Hundred deals with various franchises in the league.

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