Hope in Australian cricket pay dispute with agreement ‘closer than it appears’ | Jonathan Howcroft | Sport
Australian cricket’s long-running pay dispute continues to drag on but there are glimmers of hope a resolution may be near, with a Cricket Australia spokesperson telling Guardian Australia an agreement with the Australian Cricketers’ Association is “closer than it appearsâ€. The governing body was bullish about the chances of August’s tour of Bangladesh going ahead and there was even greater confidence in this summer’s men’s and women’s Ashes taking place. By comparison, the ACA’s tone was much more cautious.
The previous five-year memorandum of understanding expired on 30 June, since when professional cricket has existed in limbo with the majority of players effectively unemployed. Negotiations for the new deal began in December last year but ill will surfaced quickly and discussions were soon shelved. In March this year this year CA submitted the first draft of a revised MoU, documenting the controversial removal of the fixed-revenue payment model, a suggestion rejected out of hand by the players. “We see the retention of the revenue share model as being fundamental from our perspective,†ACA president Greg Dyer asserted in June.
ESPN Cricinfo reported that obstacle may finally have been overcome with a compromise based around an increased redistribution of funds to grassroots cricket. This was signposted over the weekend by the ACA as part of a $30m “peace planâ€, itself a symbol of a something inching towards an accommodating tone in what has been a bitter debate.
Nevertheless, talks continue towards the drafting of a non-binding heads of agreement. This general document establishes the core tenets of the MoU which will then be worked through in detail over time. It is here the presence or absence of the principle of revenue sharing is causing so much angst with ACA insistent on its inclusion and CA refusing to budge. It seems almost as though both parties agree on the outcome, just not the semantics underpinning it.
Completion of this preliminary stage of the process is enough to enable cricket to take place, the only question is whether it can be achieved before the 18 August departure date for the Bangladesh tour and the summer’s men’s and women’s Ashes. Australia A’s trip to South Africa has already been cancelled and players have voted not to set off for Bangladesh unless an agreement is in place.
On Saturday a leaked email from ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson laid out the lengthy and potentially destabilising contract writing process. The previous 700-page tome took 18 months before all the Is were dotted and Ts crossed. “If there is agreement, the next step would be the more intensive MoU and contract drafting period. Given past experience and the massive detail involved, this would take some time and still may not be completed with time enough to meet the needs of fans, sponsors and broadcasters invested in the upcoming tours and the summer of cricket.â€
Despite Tuesday’s cause for cautious optimism, as anybody who has followed this saga closely will realise, until Nicholson and his CA counterpart James Sutherland are side-by-side at a press conference, there is no guarantee of a resumption of play. So thorough has the reporting on this issue been and so unencumbered the flow of sensitive information into the public domain, decisive judgements one way or the other have become commonplace. Moreover, the public relations aspect of any announcement may yet prove an awkward handicap. As cricket’s dirty laundry has been aired so publicly for so long both sides will be keen to save as much face as possible.
The format of the negotiations has provided its own subplot. Executive general manager Kevin Roberts conducted business on behalf of CA for the majority of the standoff, CEO Sutherland reluctantly stepping in only after it became impossible for him to stay away. As Dyer said, “I don’t personally understand why the most senior person in the organisation shouldn’t be involved in setting those parameters on behalf of their organisation. I don’t understand why he wouldn’t be involved.†The pace of negotiations appears to have quickened since Sutherland finally engaged, with Nicholson welcoming the intervention in an update to players.
Commercial partners are sure to be uneasy at the continued impasse but CA made clear they retain the full confidence of sponsors. The federal government is also keeping an eye on the situation, fearful of the damage to soft diplomacy a cancelled trip to Bangladesh might cause, not to mention the outcry should an Ashes tour not go ahead. So far their role has not extended beyond sports minister Greg Hunt contacting both parties and encouraging them to resolve the dispute.
Despite the absence of an active MoU, the ability of Australian players to earn money playing cricket remains at the behest of CA on a case-by-case basis. The professional game operates on the principle of governing bodies issuing No Objection Certificates to players wishing to compete in competitions outside their home country. Six women have received NOCs to participate in the forthcoming Kia Super League in England. Should any players compete in an unsanctioned event they risk a six-month suspension.
Tickets go on sale next week for what is likely to be the final Ashes Test to be staged at the Waca Ground in Perth. This sale was delayed long after the release of tickets for other matches after uncertainty over the choice of venue with Perth’s new Burswood stadium originally favoured but unable to guarantee its readiness for use in December. How fast they fly off the shelves will offer a litmus test as to the public’s optimism in a resolution eventuating.
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