Leaked documents show "Cricket Australia has set out to divide Australia's international male cricketers from their female and state counterparts by guaranteeing only the richest a direct share of cricket's revenue in the current pay negotiations," according to Peter Lalor of THE AUSTRALIAN. Players reacted with "outrage" to the move to split them, saying "the attempt to wrest back control of revenues was 'greedy' and shortsighted." The submission is "all good news for the top 20" who earn over A$1M ($750,000) a year. In a proposal to the players, CA said, "International men are amongst the highest-paid sportsmen in Australia and CA believes this should remain the case in the future. CA believes the players who contribute to financial returns should continue to share in those financial returns." The proposal moves "to cap the payment" to the int'l players for the first time and claims "the average pay to the top 20 averaged" A$1.16M ($870,000) in recent years and that they received a 23% increase in that time. While int'l male players "will continue to be paid under the model used for all cricketers over the past 20 years, women and state players would be guaranteed more money but be excluded from the revenue share and presumably have their pay dictated by CA." Women are included in the collective bargaining agreement for the first time but even the int'l women "will not be given access to the revenue-share model under the new proposal" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 12/14).
SUTHERLAND NOT CONCERNED: In Sydney, Chris Barrett reported CA CEO James Sutherland said that "he is not concerned a pay dispute with players will lead to a strike, but the parties remain worlds apart after two days of meetings in Melbourne." Players "considered striking" in '97 when Mark Taylor, now a CA board member, was Australian captain before the agreement of the first memorandum of understanding between the old Australian Cricket Board and cricketers a year later, but Sutherland is "not concerned" about them going down that path given "the union's determination to retain the status quo. " Sutherland said, "These sorts of negotiations come around every four years or whatever the cycle is. They're things that need to be worked through, they need to be worked through behind closed doors and in an appropriate fashion. I don't think it's our role to be giving a ball by ball commentary on it." The Australian Cricketers' Association released a statement on Tuesday, saying it was yet to receive "the relevant financial information" from CA in relation to the revenue-sharing model (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/13).
