The Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) says that even if a pay deal is reached, this summer's home Ashes series may still be scrapped.
The long-running impasse between players and Cricket Australia (CA) has so far failed to break, with 230 cricketers out of contract, while doubt has been cast on upcoming tours of Bangladesh and India, as well as this summer's Ashes series.
Australia's Ashes showdown is due to start in Brisbane on November 23, and it also has a Test tour of Bangladesh scheduled for August.
But in an email sent to the striking players, ACA chief Alistair Nicholson said the Test series against England was under direct threat due to the length of time required for negotiations over a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
"If there is agreement, the next step would be the more intensive MOU and contract drafting period," Nicholson wrote.
"Given past experience and the massive detail involved, this would take some time and still may not be completed with time enough to meet the needs of fans, sponsors and broadcasters invested in the upcoming tours and the summer of cricket."
Cricket Australia told Fairfax it was surprised and perplexed by the ACA's claims but would not comment on key details.
The parties have been at odds over CA's attempt to dismantle a fixed-revenue-sharing system of player payments, which has been in place for the last two decades.
The ACA said it recently received draft legal wording removing all references to revenue sharing in a proposed section of the new MOU.
"This was unexpected. It has setback negotiations and thwarted the prospects of agreement," Nicholson wrote.
"The ACA will seek clarification on this as a matter of priority, as it seems to ignore a number of our proposed solutions in the Terms Sheet.
"These actions would have the effect of taking the negotiations back to 'square one' minimising the good work and good faith acquired over the last two weeks and again jeopardising upcoming tours."
ACA proposes 'peace plan' to CA
The ACA said in a public statement it had presented a "solution focused 'peace plan'" to CA "in the form of a Terms Sheet the ACA believed was consistent with the direction the talks were taking".
The main elements of the peace plan included:
- Players conceding to accept CA's lower end revenue scenarios as the basis for the allocation to Australian Cricket Revenue (ACR) given market and contract uncertainty
- Players accepting an agreed percentage of the ACR forecast
- Revenue sharing is modified so that the players allocate up to $30 million via a new Players Grassroots Investment Fund (PGIF) from their share of over forecast revenue and performance bonuses
- Thus reducing the share of revenue players would otherwise earn
- Both parties agree to a gender-neutral pay model and the inclusion of women in the one MOU
- Back pay be provided to players (who have kept training even though unemployed) and the current adjustment ledger would not be 'rolled over', both of which are, as instructed by the players, plainly and rightly non-negotiable
- That given the urgency, the dispute could be resolved by both parties agreeing to the Terms Sheet, mindful that a full MOU and integrated player contracts would take some [time] to complete
- That the ACA are now concerned that a number of fundamentals in this Terms Sheet had been dismissed by CA and are now seeking clarification.
Nicholson said players were determined to get back to playing, hence the revamped offer.
"The previous MOU took almost 18 months to draft following an in-principle position being reached by both parties," Nicholson said.
"Reaching in principle agreement is what the players have attempted to do this week as a way of breaking the deadlock and not jeopardising any more cricket.
"The players in the latest ACA offer have moved a long way. We are seeking the same kind of movement from CA."
