Australian cricket "is in crisis" and facing a potential A$60M ($45.5M) "black hole" if the "escalating pay war" is not resolved before a player boycott of India, according to Ben Horne of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. Untold damage "was done to the fabric of the game" on Wednesday when "for the first time in history players boycotted a tour." Resentment toward cricket is "only the tip of the iceberg" if more int'l matches start being abandoned. Australia is due to play Test matches in Bangladesh in August and one-day internationals in India in October. Sources said that Cricket Australia -- "in the name of wanting to funnel more money into grassroots -- could be slugged anywhere" between A$60M-A$100M ($75.9M) by the BCCI if it fails to honor its commitments in the "all-powerful subcontinent." The BCCI sued the West Indies for A$74M when it pulled out of a tour a couple of years ago. If India was to flex its muscles "in the event of an Australian boycott, the ramifications would be immense," and could see broadcaster Star Sports "chasing compensation" and the BCCI "refusing to play reciprocal one-dayers in Australia the summer after next," fixtures which are worth A$9M ($6.8M) or A$10M ($7.6M) each to CA. TV rights for a two-Test series in Bangladesh "would also be worth millions." Major CA sponsors are "expected to start feeling the pinch in the coming two months." Sponsors that are "direct rivals" to CA's major corporate partners have reportedly "made solid inquiries" with the Australian Cricketers' Association, which is now handling the intellectual property of players. Direct rivals of companies like Optus and KFC "are known for having a heightened interest in ambushing their competitors," and at the moment, players like Steve Smith, David Warner and Mitchell Starc "are up for grabs" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 7/6). In Melbourne, Andrew Wu reported fears "are mounting of a disastrous Ashes boycott." While CA is "confident the Ashes will go ahead and the ACA has flagged provisions to save the series," former captain Allan Border said that it was "reasonable for fans to believe the battle for the urn was in jeopardy if both parties remained at loggerheads." Border: "If both sides stick their head in the sand and are not prepared to talk to each other, what else is there to think?" (THE AGE, 7/6).
NOT IN TIME: In Sydney, Andrew Faulkner reported CA CEO James Sutherland "has been forced to intervene for the first time in the pay dispute ripping the game apart," but his decision came "too late to save the Australia A tour to South Africa." Sutherland "has been under pressure for weeks to join pay talks with players’ representatives." He "finally agreed" after the South Africa tour became the "first casualty of the worst dispute in Australian cricket" since the '70s. Until Wednesday, Sutherland "had delegated responsibility for the pay negotiations to lead negotiator Kevin Roberts." However, Sutherland's involvement in negotiations "did not stop the ACA going on the attack." The ACA said, "All players are deeply disappointed at the behavior of CA which forces this course of action, given the players would rather be playing for their country" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 7/7).
