Australian cricket's "ugly" player pay dispute has "thrown finding a resolution to Canberra's cricket future on the backburner," according to Caden Helmers of the CANBERRA TIMES. The "bitter wage war is threatening to get ugly" in the wake of Australia's "disappointing" Int'l Cricket Council Champions Trophy campaign with the June 30 deadline "looming fast." It could have "huge ramifications" for Canberra, with Cricket Australia expected to "stand firm on its decision to stay out of financial negotiations to bring a Big Bash League game to the capital." The Sydney Thunder is "in talks to bring a BBL game to Canberra" but CA's focus on the player pay deal "could mean the capital is left in the lurch." The game's governing body likely will not "stump up the cash to bring supplementary content to Canberra this summer after the capital was controversially left off the international schedule." Instead, the ACT government will be "forced to dig into its own pockets to keep disgruntled Canberra fans happy" after they were denied a men's int'l match (CANBERRA TIMES, 6/14).
