Australia cricket vice-captain David Warner started preparations for the Bangladesh Test series as parties "worked deep into Wednesday night in a bid to thrash out a peace deal and end Australian cricket's ugly pay dispute," according to Barrett & Wu of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. There were reportedly "issues around the drafting of the heads of agreement with concerns focused on revenue share definitions." There had been hopes a resolution may have been reached earlier this week "but the latest differences, believed to be minor, have pushed this back." A deal remains "vital" to the two-Test tour of Bangladesh "going ahead." Cricket Australia's sponsors and broadcast partners will also be "looking for a swift resolution so they can regain access to players," whose intellectual property has been handed over to the Australian Cricketers' Association's The Cricketers Brand (SMH, 8/2). In Sydney, Le Grand & Lalor reported despite "optimism from both parties earlier in the week that a deal was imminent, talks have stalled in the past 48 hours." CA and the ACA have reportedly accepted a new "modernised" revenue-sharing model that would "provide administrators with more financial flexibility while guaranteeing players a set share of above-forecast revenue." However, it is understood that no agreement has been reached on the final pay scales for int'l and domestic cricketers over the next five years and CA is "still refusing a demand by players for back pay since they became uncontracted on July 1" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 8/3).
