James Sutherland warns Australian players to accept new CA terms or to forget payments

James Sutherland issued a stern warning to all the players, asking them to accept the new terms presented by Cricket Australia (CA).

Australian players have been dealt with a serious blow by Cricket Australia (CA), as chairman James Sutherland issued a stern warning to all the players, asking them to accept the new terms presented by the CA, while failing to do so would lead to the players losing out on payment from CA. Sutherland has said that the CA would present the contract along with the offers to CA and the state players, before the current Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) expires on June 30. Sutherland said that failing to reach an agreement by the deadline would lead the payments being scrapped, while no alternative models would be considered for the payment. Clarke: Warner, Smith to continue playing in IPL despite CA’s stand

“In the absence of the ACA negotiating a new MoU, players with contracts expiring in 2016-17 will not have contracts for 2017-18. Players with existing multi-year State or BBL contracts that expire after 2017 will be required to play in 2017-18 and will be paid the retainer specified in their contract, regardless of whether a new MOU is in place; and in the absence of a new MoU, the Australian Women’s World Cup Squad will be paid in advance of the June/July World Cup and will be employed until the end of the event. To be very clear, in the absence of a new MoU, CA is not contemplating alternative contracting arrangements to pay players beyond 30 June if their contracts have expired,” wrote Sutherland, reports ESPNCricinfo.

“In its defence of the status quo, the ACA’s narrative about the history and supposed sanctity of the existing pay model has unfairly placed current players in a difficult position. I understand that some have been made to feel that accepting the relatively minor but necessary changes to the existing pay model, while being paid more, would somehow be ‘letting the side down’,” Sutherland added. Australian cricketers offered multi-year contracts to forgo IPL in future

“This is nonsense. Nothing decided by today’s players binds future generations, just as nothing decided by past players should govern current players’ decisions concerning their own careers and welfare. Future players will have their own opportunities to negotiate an MoU that suits them and the circumstances of the game at the time,” Sutherland continued.

With CA’s relationship with the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) in jeopardy for the past couple of years, and with Australian Football League (AFL) set to announce it’s individual payment structure, pressure is definitely on CA to to do the same and reach an agreement. “For at least five months, Cricket Australia has been unambiguously clear that the twenty-year old pay model needs to be adapted in the next MoU to reflect the changing landscape of the game,” wrote Sutherland. Australian players reject ‘disrespectful’ pay offer from CA

“In particular, CA has identified the need to significantly boost funding for grassroots cricket. CA firmly believes that the proposal is a fair deal for all players. It is therefore surprising and regrettable that the ACA is yet to engage in negotiations on any element of it. Instead, the ACA spent weeks developing a response which merely seeks to defend and entrench the status quo,” he added.

“It is clear to me that the only way forward is for the ACA to engage in focused and constructive negotiations based on the proposal put forward by CA in March. With 30 June now only weeks away, the ACA is fast running out of time to engage with CA’s proposal and optimise the outcomes for players,” he concluded.

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