Steven Smith calls on ACA and CA to settle dispute

Steven Smith insists that the ACA remain committed to resolving the pay dispute at the earliest

What’s the story?

With the dispute between the Australian Cricketer’s Association (ACA) and Cricket Australia (CA) casting doubt on the Ashes series scheduled for later this year, Australian skipper Steven Smith has called on both parties to reach an agreement and settle the differences as soon as possible.

The 28-year-old took to Instagram with a lengthy post reiterating his support to the ACA and insisted that what they want is for players at all levels, which includes the national team, the state-level cricketers as well as the women’s side to get their fair share of revenues.

Smith said that both sides should be able to work out a revenue model which will see the players get their due as well as adhere to Cricket Australia’s plans to allocate higher funding to grassroots development.

I'll say what we as players have been saying for some time now: we are not giving up the revenue sharing model for all players. But, through the ACA we are willing to make important changes to modernise the existing model for the good of the game. We are and have always been willing to make those changes. Changes for how the model can be adapted for the even greater benefit of grass roots cricket, which is after all where we all started. We are determined to keep revenue sharing for all because we must take care of domestic players in Australia. As leaders that’s what David, Meg, Alex and I have been fighting for: a fair share for state players who are also partners in cricket. I know from my career that when I was dropped in 2011 if I didn't have a strong domestic competition to go back to, I certainly wouldn't be in the position that I'm in today. State players need to be taken care of financially so the domestic competition will always be strong which in turn keeps us strong at the International level. Also as Women's cricket gets bigger and bigger in Australia women players must also be able to share in what they will be earning. They must have the same chances and incentives to grow the game as the men have had since revenue sharing started. And I know I speak for all of the men that we want women cricketers in the one deal with the men as well. It's time to get a deal done. It should be and can be an exciting time for the game.
A post shared by Steve Smith (@steve_smith49) on Jul 8, 2017 at 3:18pm PDT

In case you didn’t know....

As of now, more than 200 professional cricketers are unemployed with the ACA and CA failing to reach a Memorandum of Understanding over the revenue sharing model to be adopted. The deadline for reaching an agreement was June 30 and the dispute has just carried on with CA’s last-minute increased pay offer also rejected by the ACA.

Extra Cover: Australian cricket's latest mess: All you need to know about ACA-CA pay war

The heart of the matter

While the ACA has criticised the CA for adopting a ‘divide and rule’ tactic, the governing body has accused the players of not being considerate to the overall development of Australian cricket by not willing to take a pay cut.

Smith, however, insists that the players are committed to resolving the issue at the earliest but wants the CA to be more generous to the player’s cause at all levels of the game.

He recalled his own experience of being dropped from the national side in 2011 to validate his point, claiming that it was because of the presence of a strong domestic setup in Australia that he could get the financial part of things out of his mind and focus on his game, eventually earning a comeback.

He also batted for the betterment of women’s cricket saying that they should be treated equal to men and given the same chances to grow financially like their male counterparts.

What’s next?

The ACA-CA pay dispute has already resulted in the cancellation of Australia A’s tour of South Africa which was scheduled to begin this week, while the immediate international series in doubt is Australia’s tour of Bangladesh set for August. Interestingly, the tour, originally scheduled in October 2015, was cancelled following a terrorist attack in Dhaka, which killed 20 foreign nationals.

The biggest threat, however, is undoubtedly the Ashes series scheduled for November 2017.

Author’s take

By likening the pay dispute with CA to the World Series Cricket episode of the late 1970s, the ACA has already indicated the way they would be heading if the pay dispute is not resolved.

With international cricket already in crisis, the Test format, in particular, it would be a big blow if things don't get resolved soon and let’s hope that both parties sit down and resolve the differences sooner rather than later.