Oz A to boycott SA tour over row

We’re still going to be training this week. Hopefully something can be resolved, but if it’s not, it’s a tough decision that sort of has to be made. USMAN KHAWAJA, Oz A captain

Players will boycott an Australia A tour of South Africa this month in an escalation of their dispute with Cricket Australia unless a new pay deal is agreed, the Australian Cricketers’ Association said on Sunday.

The players’ union held an emergency meeting in Sydney where they decided to take action for the tour beginning on July 12 unless a new MoU was signed with CA by Friday.

ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson said a “significant breakthrough” was needed for the South Africa tour to proceed.

The latest development in the stalled pay row comes after both parties failed to reach an agreement on a new MoU before Friday’s deadline after months of protracted negotiations.

It leaves as many as 230 male and female players unemployed and threatens fixtures including this year’s Ashes series.

“Australia A is a development tour which gives players an opportunity to perform at a high level,” CA said in a statement.

“It is therefore surprising that players would elect not to tour, however CA has never, and would never attempt to force anyone to play for an Australian team who is unwilling to do so.

“It’s not an easy thing to do... but we are united,” Australia A captain Usman Khawaja told reporters. “We’re still going to be training this week. Hopefully something can be resolved, but if it’s not, it’s a tough decision.”