Compromise reached in time for 'all-important BD tour'
Australia cricket's long and bitter pay dispute is over, paving the way for the Test tour of Bangladesh to proceed later this month.
Cricket Australia (CA) CEO James Sutherland and the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) CEO Alistair Nicholson announced the new agreement at a joint press conference in Melbourne on Thursday afternoon. The agreement ends a 10-month negotiation process that became bitter and acrimonious as Cricket Australia sought to dramatically alter the existing pay model by which players shared in the game's revenue.
The players appeared to be the winners in the five-year agreement, worth an estimated A$500 million (US$396 million), as they retained the revenue-sharing model they had been fighting for, with women cricketers also included for the first time.
"Today's agreement is the result of sensible compromises by both parties," said CA chief Sutherland, adding that the "core issues" had been worked out.
He said the five-year deal would "restore much certainty to the game of cricket".
"It will allow all players -- state and international -- to be contracted immediately and it will also allow the all-important tour of Bangladesh to proceed as planned," Sutherland explained.
Sutherland described it as a modernised model that gave CA more flexibility in the way the game's revenue is distributed but the Australian Cricketers' Association greeted the agreement as a victory for players.
"The men and women have been rewarded for sticking together and for having the courage of their convictions. They have made history and created a legacy for generations of players to come," ACA boss Nicholson said.
"We fought hard for revenue share because we know it has worked well and will continue to do so. To have retained the revenue sharing model and increased the level we have and ensure that men, women, domestic and international players receive a fair share is great news for the players and for the game," he continued.
In the end, it was the players who came out on top, with the revenue-sharing model retained.
Under the new deal, they will share up to 30 percent of agreed revenue -- 27.5 percent of forecast revenue streams, and a 2.5 percent performance pool.
In a significant move, the format will also apply to female players in what the ACA said was 'the biggest pay rise in the history of women's sport in Australia'.
Players also won a greater say on scheduling.
"The new memorandum of understanding is a great achievement for the players and the game," said ACA president Greg Dyer.
"Like anything worthwhile, it's been hard to achieve. But what has been agreed is ground-breaking for Australian sport.
"One MOU for men and women, the maintenance of the partnership model, and record investments for grassroots cricket is what we wanted and it's what has been achieved."