Cricketers won’t tour without MOU deal
STEVE Smith and David Warner led a spirited meeting of Australia’s top players yesterday, where the team resolved not to tour Bangladesh unless a memorandum of understanding was in place.
There are two major forces at play as the national sport continues to resemble a ticking time bomb.
In one corner are the players, who yesterday recommitted to not going on any international tours until a new agreement is brokered, while in the other, Cricket Australia will not back down from their stance that out-of-work cricketers will not be receiving back pay when the saga is over.
The two stances put pressure on both organisations to ensure the war comes to a rapid conclusion. Cricket Australia and their sponsors can’t afford their national team not to play, and battling unemployed state cricketers around the country are relying on their union to ensure they don’t become victims on the battlefield.
The Australian Cricketers Association last week raised the ire of administrators when they released a self-dubbed “peace plan” they believe can immediately end the conflict.
CA viewed the draft plan as a publicity stunt and unnecessarily disruptive to the real process being made at the negotiating table, adamant that the unsolicited proposal offered substantially more money to players and less to the grassroots.
But the players have battened down the hatches and reiterated their support for the ACA approach. Warner took to Twitter to imply the players were the ones being flexible.
“Not sure the players can do much more to solve the dispute,” he said. “We’re really proud to offer up to an extra $30 million for grassroots.”
Pat Cummins posted: “Players are as frustrated as anyone else. We want to play. Offering even more to grassroots to get a deal!”
According to the ACA, leading players responded positively to the path they have navigated forward and want Cricket Australia to take the peace plan seriously.
“The players are committed to the Peace Plan on the table,” said an ACA spokesman, who confirmed the meeting.