With Cricket Australia (CA) and Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) failing to strike a new pay deal, legendary captain Allan Border is fearing for the worst.
The Australian board’s plans of ending the revenue-sharing model of its contracted players, as part of a wider reorganisation of its remuneration policy, has been vehemently by the ACA. And with neither of the two parts willing to bow down in front of the opposing party’s views, a new Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) has not been put in place yet, leaving around 230 leading cricketers effectively unemployed.
And with no signs of progress in the pay deal coming to the fore, the worst possibilities have started to surface. On Thursday (July 6), Australian cricketers agreed to boycott their ‘A’ tour of South Africa. And with the Australia A players showing the way, it is highly likely that the senior players, who are firmly behind the ACA, will follow suit which can jeopardise the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh, ODI tour of India and the all-important Ashes series at home.
Read More: (ACA calls off Australia ‘A’ tour to South Africa)
Border, who played 156 Tests for the team from Down Under, said he was worried that the prospect of more boycotts is looming in the aftermath of the A tour cancellation.
“It seems ridiculous that it’s got to this. (Australia ‘A’ tours) can be rescheduled, but tours of India and Ashes can’t – and that’s looming,” Border told Fox Sports News on Thursday (July 6). “Has there ever been a player boycott of a tour before? Not in my time. To boycott a tour – that’s pretty serious.
“If both sides stick their head in the sand and are not prepared to talk to each other, what else is there to think?” he added. “As an outsider, you’ve got to say ‘does that mean touring India is going to be a problem?’ If that happens, the Indians are going to have some say about what’s going on – it’s costing us money.”
The former skipper further said that he cannot even think of an Ashes’ boycott. However, given the current situation, it is highly likely unless a new pay deal is struck. Australia star David Warner has already warned that the ongoing pay rift can affect the iconic Test series against England.
“The Ashes… I can’t imagine that not going ahead because of a player boycott,” he said. “There’s a lot of people out there that love the game but as soon as you start boycotting Ashes series.. that is a serious situation.
“They’ve (CA and ACA) just got to get in a room and do it now,” he added.
The legendary batsman also offered to mediate negotiations, as the stand-off between CA and ACA is getting worse with every passing day.
“If they need a mediator.. whatever it takes to get both parties together and talking,” he said. “At the moment it just seems as though they’re not talking to each other.
“They’ve got total separate thoughts on the thing and just won’t negotiate. You can’t just let these things drift because there’ll be serious ramifications down the line,” he added.