Australia A to boycott SA tour if no pay deal
PLAYERS will boycott an Australia A tour of South Africa this month in an escalation of a bitter dispute with Cricket Australia (CA) unless a new pay deal is agreed on, the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) said yesterday.
The players’ union held an emergency meeting in Sydney and decided to take action for the tour due to begin on July 12, unless a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with CA by Friday.
ACA chief executive Alistair Nicholson said a significant breakthrough was needed for the tour to proceed.
The latest development in the stalled pay row comes after both parties failed to agree on a new MOU before Friday’s deadline, after months of protracted negotiations.
It leaves as many as 230 men and women players unemployed and threatens fixtures, including this year’s prestige home Ashes series.
“They don’t intend to tour but the reality is they don’t fly out of the country until Friday,” Nicholson said.
“So the players are going to go into camp as planned – and hopefully we can make progress on a new MOU.
“There would need to be a significant breakthrough on the key issue of the revenue-sharing model.”
CA said in response it would never force any players to play for an Australian team. “Australia A is a development tour, which gives players an opportunity to perform at a high level,” it said.
“It is therefore surprising that players would elect not to tour.
“CA has again called on the ACA to show genuine flexibility and commence negotiations in the best interests of the players and the game.”
The players’ union decision also includes players who are on multi-year deals with their respective state franchise teams and who will refuse to play without an MOU.
“We are united,” Australia A captain Usman Khawaja said.
“Hopefully, something can be resolved, but if it’s not, a tough decision has to be made,” he said. “Not to go [to SA] is a sacrifice in some respects, but we see the broader picture.”
The ACA warned that upcoming Australian tours to Bangladesh and India were also under threat.
It said: “Players expressed a strong desire to tour Bangladesh and India and urged CA to support them by renewing an MOU on fair terms.”
Australia’s test tour to Bangladesh is from August and the one-day international series in India in September.
In the absence of a new deal, the players discussed the prospect of the ACA taking control of their rights and selling them to the governing body.
“But an agreed MOU is the preference,” Nicholson said.
Looking further ahead, ACA said that in the event of a dispute, which could threaten this year’s Ashes series with England, the association would look at offering the players back to CA on the right terms.