The Story:
Ian Chappell, the former Australian skipper, has backed Australia cricketers in the current controversy surrounding the pay – dispute. Cricket Australia (CA) and Australia Cricketer’s Association (ACA) both are currently in a stand-off over the revenue model structure.
The CA’s proposal to scrap the existing revenue system has met with sharp criticism and opposition from the ACA and many former cricketers. According to the CA, the domestic cricketers aren’t eligible for high shares similar to the international names and should be paid less than the current contract.
However, as of now, no one has drawn any sense out of this logic.
Domestic cricket produces international names
“It’s that same first-class system that produces players who go on to become elite internationals. It’s the elite internationals who create the wide interest in the game that produces lucrative media rights deals, large crowd attendances and eager sponsors, not to mention inspiring youngsters to either become players or followers of the game. In essence, it’s the elite players who are responsible for providing administration jobs and in many cases, well-paid ones.”
The veteran also feels that the CA shouldn’t behave as if it’s running a corporate style ’employee – boss’ structure.
“The business of Australian cricket should not be a boss and employee arrangement. It has to be a partnership where both sides have a vested interest in growing the game. And there has to be a certain amount of trust and respect on both sides for it to work successfully. Neither the trust nor the respect is visible at the moment.”
As many as 230 players are currently unemployed after the current Memorandum of Understanding lapsed on June 30.As ab aftermath, the Australia ‘A’ team has called off the upcoming tour of South Africa. The senior team has also threatened to follow the same suit.
“Now that the June 30 deadline for a new MoU has passed and the Australia ‘A’ invitation to tour South Africa has been declined by the players, there are three further events that could cause a deal to be agreed. Firstly, there’s the Channel Nine sponsors lunch next Tuesday in Melbourne. Unlike the recent Sydney event, there will be CA officials in the room and it could be rather uncomfortable for the attending administrators if a deal isn’t imminent.”
Ashes in crisis
As of now, the Steve Smith & Co. have made clear indications of boycotting the tour of India and the vital Ashes series. The threat looks more real after the recent boycott announced by the ‘A’ team.
Ian Chappell suggests that the CA should find a way to end the authoritarian style of leadership and even made a comparison with Donald Trump to make his tone more clear.
“The next period of interest will be the ODI tour to India in October. It’s highly unlikely CA will want to aggravate the BCCI by cancelling that tour, so look for a deal to be in place by then or else the tour is likely to be re-scheduled.”
“Then there’s the Ashes series. This is a highly lucrative tour that creates great interest among the public and usually causes a spike in the playing numbers at junior level.”
“CA won’t want to forfeit any of those lucrative Ashes opportunities and I also can’t imagine them just handing the series to England on a platter by choosing a sub-standard team. If CA doesn’t have a deal in place before the commencement of the Ashes series, then Donald Trump’s won’t be the only leadership style I find mystifying.