BIG BASH TO LOSE ITS BANG
There won’t be fireworks. Business class may be cut too
CRICKET:
The Big Bash is about to lose its big bang and Australia’s Test stars face the prospect of being booted out of business class, as part of cricket’s new dollar-conscious world.
Fireworks at Twenty20 games are set to be scrapped as one immediate saving, but Cricket Australia will unashamedly run the microscope over all avenues of the business having already stood down 80 per cent of staff.
Cricket is bracing for a debate over whether flying at the pointy end of the plane is a tactical move or a luxury it can no longer afford.
Australia’s cricket stars fly business for all overseas tours, but the extra leg room afforded to big, fast bowlers is one custom that could be sacrificed as head office explores all options for making drastic cost cuts.
Cattle class might be out of the question, but bean counters may raise the prospect of whether premium economy might be an adequate compromise between the excessive cost and the high performance benefits of keeping athletes as fresh and unrestricted as possible on long-haul flights, before they’re expected to go into battle.
Cricket Australia made the stunning claim it would run out of money by August unless extreme action was taken to address the organisation’s financial situation, and although stakeholders were split over whether that was an unavoidable truth or an overreaction, the question now is, what will the game actually look like post
COVID-19? Selectors will announce the Cricket Australia contract list on Thursday. Yet in a marked change from tradition, players may not be told what their deals are worth until closer to the end of the financial year.
Instead of being given a ranking (1-20) and an envelope detailing their pay packet, Australia’s elite male and female players look like instead being told what percentage they can expect from a payment pool that’s yet to be determined.
Expensive pyrotechnics exploding at Big Bash League games have been as regular as balls flying over the fence in recent years, but head office will now look to find cheaper sources of atgame entertainment. Meanwhile, bountiful allocations of kit and merchandise among players and staff may also be reined in. Most contentious could be the conversation about pushing players and staff further back down the aisle of the plane.
Cricketers travel virtually 11 months of the year, and the physical load on the hamstrings and backs of fast bowlers is a constant concern.
Changing the flight arrangements for Australian cricketers wouldn’t be a simple process, as the business class travel is written into their current deal with Qantas and changes may need to be written into aspects of that in kind contract if CA was to move down a notch in terms of value. The players’ association would also need to sign off on such a change, however, CA believes the game needs to reconsider every dollar it spends and wants these conversations to be had.