Ashes back on as Cricket Australia resolves pay dispute

August 3, 2017 7:05 pm.by Michael Maguire

James Sutherland, CEO of Cricket Australia
DISASTER was averted on Thursday morning as Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association agreed in principle to a new pay deal.

A successful round of face-to-face negotiations on Thursday morning will see the nation’s players come back under contract just in time for the upcoming tour of Bangladesh.

It also nixes any doubts as to whether or not this summer’s home Ashes series will proceed as planned.

Relief for Boof! pic.twitter.com/9SORccYL3s

— CrownBet.com.au (@crownbet) August 3, 2017

Hundreds of Australian cricketers became unemployed on July 1 when the existing memorandum of understanding expired.

In a joint press conference at the MCG, both CA chief James Sutherland and ACA boss Alistair Nicholson said mutual compromise was the key to ending a dispute that has dragged on for almost a year.

“We have reached a good compromise we can live with,” said Sutherland.

“It has at times been acrimonious and upsetting to fans, which is regretted.”

When there's a new office seating plan and you have to sit next to the one bloke you didn't want to sit next to… pic.twitter.com/RTPvYmFPpA

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The new platform is built on a modernised revenue-sharing system that includes both men and women at state and international level.

It will grant Australia’s female cricketers an unprecedented wage rise, with minimums for state players to rise by some 133.3 per cent in the first year.

Base rates will improve at every level over the duration of the five-year agreement.

“We wanted to introduce a gender equity pay model,” said Sutherland.

“We’re delighted to be market leaders in Australian sport in this regard.”

The deal will also see up to $30 million in revenue pumped into grassroots cricket, while the CA will aim to free up even more funds for local-level programs in the coming years.

Key points in Cricket Australia’s new pay deal

– A five-year memorandum of understanding

– One deal for men and women from state level upwards

– An adjusted revenue-sharing agreement for all players

– A gender equity model with unprecedented improvements to pay and benefits for female players

– Better base rates for men and women in international, state and domestic T20 cricket

– An investment of between $25m and $30m in grassroots cricket programs

– Players will have a greater say in scheduling

– An improved retirement fund

How the new pay structure works

Players at all levels will benefit from improved base wages, which will rise significantly until the new MoU’s expiry in 2022.

On top of that, all players will receive a 27.5 per cent share of forecast revenue and 2.5 per cent of a performance pool.

Together, those two streams constitute around $500 million out of $1.688 billion.

Players also earn match fees, captaincy bonuses, injury pay and a number of other benefits.

This is how the base wages stack up:

Internationals

– Men’s base rate up 3.0 per cent to $278,100, rising to $313,100 by 2022

– Women’s base rate up 80.2 per cent to $72,076, rising to $87,609 by 2022

State level

– Men’s base rate up 7.2 per cent to $66,243, rising to $74,557 by 2022

– Women’s base rate up 133.3 per cent to $25,659, rising to $27,287 by 2022

Domestic T20

– BBL base rate up 50 per cent to $30,000, rising to $40,064 by 2022

– WBBL base rate up 47 per cent to $10,292, rising to $11,584 by 2022

Is it a good deal for Australian cricket?

There was one word that sprang to mind during the MCG press conference: relief.

Both Nicholson and Sutherland looked exhausted, defeated and ready to move on.

There are still details that need to be ironed out, but this announcement is a giant leap in the right direction.

The cricketers won’t get everything they want, the administrators will give up more than they’d like.

Isn’t that just life in a nutshell?

The best news to come out of this mess is the vastly improved terms for female players.

CA and the ACA have set a new professional benchmark for women’s sport in Australia – one that should encourage other codes to step up their game.

All in all, fans should be glad the war is over and we can look forward to the summer of cricket without fearing the worst.

Another positive is that we will no longer have to listen to David Warner et al pouring oil on the fire.

While the board was naive to pull out the rug and expect everyone to keep walking in an orderly fashion, the whole ordeal has only highlighted the rarified air in which Australia’s top players roam.

Arguing over percentages of billions when you are already among the best-paid people in the country is no way to endear yourself to the wider public.

It is time to sign on the dotted line and get back to work.