CA’s been Warnered

MELBOURNE: The ongoing pay dispute might leave Australia without their top players in the home Ashes series against England later this year, vice-captain David Warner warned. Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA) rejected Cricket Australia’s (CA) pay offer last month, dismissing the proposal as “a win for cricket administrators but a loss for cricket”. CA has threatened the players with unemployment, saying they would not get alternative contracts if they fail to agree to the new collective bargaining agreement. Warner said he and his colleagues would not “buckle”. “If it gets to the extreme they might not have a team for the Ashes,” Warner, playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), said. “I really hope they can come to an agreement... we don’t really want to see this panning out like that where we don’t have a team, we don’t have cricket in the Australian summer. “It is up to CA to deal with the ACA. It’s obviously in their hands,” said the 30-year-old. Fast-bowling teammate, Mitchell Starc, had earlier predicted “an interesting men’s and women’s ashes” in a cryptic tweet, triggering speculations of a possible strike if they were not paid after the existing collective bargaining agreement expires on June 30. Warner ruled out signing three-year contracts that would keep elite Australian players out of the IPL. “It is fantastic with the security but you can’t just try and stop people from playing other tournaments,” he said. – Reuters