Pay war ends in landmark players’ deal

HEALING the wounds created by a pay war that will reward Australia’s cricketers with a record $500 million is the next battlefront for the battered image of Australian cricket.

A 10-month impasse dirtied by squabbling that cost an Australian A tour and nearly claimed the first ever Test boycott of Bangladesh ended yesterday with big raises for players including a $48 million jump in pay for female cricketers.

Victory was claimed by the players and the Australian Cricketers Association after Cricket Australia conceded to the continuation of the contentious revenue share model, albeit with significant changes, in a heads of agreement signed yesterday morning.

Relieved Tasmanian Tigers last night said they were keen to put the issue behind them and get on with their seasons. Speedster Jackson Bird said he would now focus all his energies on gaining a coveted spot on the Ashes tour.

While increases are assured for all Australia’s elite cricketers, the nature of those were not disclosed.

Test captain Steve Smith had a Cricket Australia retainer of $1.2 million last season with match and other payments boosting that to about $2 million, but the only figure available from both parties last night was that the minimum national male retainer would lift from $270,000 now to $313,004 by the end of this new deal — a 16 per cent increase.

The bitter impasse came at the cost of credibility for both organisations, players and the game, which CA boss James Sutherland conceded could leave a legacy of distrust.

“Change is never easy but sometimes it’s necessary. This hasn’t been easy and history will judge whether it was all worth it in the end,” Sutherland said.

“I think we’ve reached a good compromise, one we can both live with and one that will be good for the game and Australia’s cricketers.

“There’s no denying the debate itself has at times been difficult and acrimonious. Relationships within the game have been tested and that’s been a turn-off to many fans.

“Both parties acknowledge and regret that and now it’s very much up to us to put that behind us. We are restoring certainty and beginning to repair relationships especially with fans. We want the focus to be back on cricket.”

But while Sutherland took a conciliatory tone, ACA president Greg Dyer took aim at CA for the nature and length of dispute.

“Yes, we’ve arrived at a great place but the game must never again take this same route,” he said.

“The players did not choose this route and did not enjoy being on it. In fact, the players resented it deeply. This was not a fight the players

started. The players defended themselves as is fair and as is their right.”

The ACA also issued an 18-point checklist of issues it targeted for success, and marked all of them as “achieved”.

Key elements of the heads of agreement reached yesterday included:

ALL players, international and domestic, male and female, share up to 30 per cent of a forecast $1.668 billion in cricket revenue over the next five years.

$25-$30 MILLION from player payment pool will flow directly to grassroots investment.

FEMALE player payments will increase from $7.5m to $55.2m.

THE $56 million “adjustment ledger” (revenue over forecast from previous memorandum of understanding) will be paid to players in October.

ALL players out of contract since June 30 will receive back pay for July.

A 16-minute video was last night sent to all players outlining the details of the new deal and a vote is required for it to get the green light.

The parties then have a fourweek window to finalise the official memorandum of understanding.

By that stage however the Australian Test team will have begun the first tour of Bangladesh in more than a decade. Sutherland conceded pressure to make sure the tour was not lost made talks more urgent.