CSA strikes deal with ditched league players
PLAYERS who signed with franchises in the aborted inaugural edition of the T20 Global League (T20GL) will be paid up to 60% of the value of their contracts. Eventually‚ that is.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) said yesterday “payment will be made in three equal instalments between December 2017 and April 2018” — which will be seen as another embarrassment in an episode that has crippled the organisation’s credibility.
Sources say the upper limit of 60% applies to the South Africans who were to appear in the tournament‚ which was to have been played last month and this month but was called off when‚ CSA say‚ they realised the venture would lose $25-million (R336-million).
Foreigners who did not make alternative playing arrangements will have to be satisfied with half of what they were to be paid.
But those who‚ for instance‚ latched onto a side in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League will supposedly make less than half their original T20GL fees.
News of the settlement being reached was confirmed yesterday.
What was not disclosed is how much of the salary bill‚ reportedly $10.8-million (R145-million)‚ CSA had managed to salvage.
In fact‚ no amount of money was mentioned in a release that was all about money. But the word amicable made two appearances.
Asked for the financial details‚ CSA was unwilling to provide them.
The compensation was agreed following mediation between CSA and the South African Cricketers’ Association (Saca).
“The settlement will help bridge the gap between player expectation and the disappointment of having to postpone the league‚” CSA acting chief executive Thabang Moroe said.
Saca chief executive Tony Irish was quoted as saying: “The settlement is both fair and responsible and has been well received by the players.”
Meanwhile, Dale Steyn will be back in whites for the first time in more than a year when an SA Invitation XI play Zimbabwe in a tour match in Paarl this month.
Steyn was sidelined in November last year when he broke his shoulder and injured three major muscles while bowling in the first test against Australia at the Waca in Perth last November.
He made his return to action last month and has bowled 14 overs in four T20s for the Titans this season.