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Australian players reject ‘disrespectful’ pay offer from CA

Cricket Australia also plans to more than double elite women players' pay, giving them the opportunity to pursue a fully professional career at both international and domestic levels.

James Sutherland hopes for © Getty Images
James Sutherland expressed his disappointment on Australian players rejecting the pay and conditions proposal but hopes for a deal to be struck before the deal expires in June © Getty Images

Australia‘s players’ union on Friday rejected a Cricket Australia (CA) pay and conditions proposal, saying it was unfair and disrespectful. The sport’s governing body put forward an improved offer, but the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) called it a “win” for administrators, and a “loss” for cricket. CA has offered total potential pay for all players, including guaranteed and performance elements, of Aus$419 million over the next five-years, an increase of 35 per cent. Men who represent Australia at international level would see their average yearly retainer rise to Aus$816,000 by 2021-22. With match fees and performance bonuses, the expected average income for these players — including Big Bash League (BBL) payments — would soar 25 per cent to Aus$1.45 million. ICC Women’s World Cup 2017: AUS announces preliminary squad

CA also plans to more than double elite women players’ pay, giving them the opportunity to pursue a fully professional career at both international and domestic levels. But the ACA said the offer compromised CA’s “otherwise positive response to the ACA’s calls for gender equity. The players union added that the proposal also “disrespects the value of domestic cricketers and the role they play in Australian cricket. It further said the offer “fails to allocate with transparency or certainty the independently forecasted Aus$2.6 billion which is expected to enter that game over the next 5 years. Instead, the union proposed a modernised revenue sharing model with a “22.5/22.5/55 split of agreed revenue share to grassroots cricket, the players and CA respectively”.

CA chief James Sutherland said he was disappointed, but remained confident a deal could be struck before the current deal expires at the end of June. “They will find, when they sit down with us and understand the detail, that this really is a ground-breaking offer and a fair deal for all players. In particular, it offers higher guaranteed payments at a time of uncertainty, while continuing to provide a share of cricket’s financial surpluses to players at the pinnacle of the game”, he concluded.

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